Case report: Percutaneous drainage of the pancreatic head hydatid cyst with obstructive jaundice

We report a rare case of a patient with a primary hydatid cyst in the head of the pancreas who presented with obstructive jaundice caused by extrinsic compression of the intrapancreatic portion of the bile duct. The patient was treated successfully by ultrasound-guided percutaneous drainage of the cyst using hypertonic (20%) saline as the scolicidal agent and albendazole chemoprophylaxis before and after the drainage. The cyst was not visible on ultrasonography at 6 months follow up. Clinical, sonographic and serological follow up to 35 months showed no evidence of cyst recurrence or dissemination. In endemic areas of hydatid disease, hydatid cyst should be a differential diagnosis in cystic lesions of the pancreas in patients presenting with obstructive jaundice.