Cardiac hydatid cysts: surgical treatment and results

From 1991 to 2000 six patients with intracardiac echinococcosis underwent surgical treatment. Four patients were females and two were males, age of the patients ranged from 20 to 68 years. Two patients had symptoms, all patients were diagnosed as a component of multi-organ echinococcosis and three of them underwent operation before. They were examined serologically and echocardiographically. Cardiac hydatidosis were diagnosed in right ventricle (in three cases), left ventricle (in one case), and interventricular septum (in two cases). Sternotomy was the approach used and all patients were operated on using cardiopulmonary bypass. Intraoperative rupture did not occur. There was no operative mortality, the only morbidity was complete atrioventricular block necessitating VVD pacemaker implantation in the patient with hydatid cyst involving the basal interventricular septum. All patients were followed by medical treatment with albendazole (400 mg/day) and no recurrences were reported in the late follow-up.