Percutaneous treatment of a primary pancreatic hydatid cyst using a catheterization technique

Primary pancreatic hydatid cysts are rare and its percutaneous treatment and catheterization technique has, to the best of our knowledge, not been published in literature. A 33-year-old male patient who presented with abdominal pain was evaluated by ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography examinations. Both examinations revealed a cyst in the neck of the pancreas. After the administration of albendazole chemoprophylaxis, the patient underwent diagnostic puncture showing high pressure spring water which harbored the scoleces and was treated percutaneously by the catheterization technique. In this technique, first the cyst was punctured, the fluid content aspirated, the radiocontrast material injected to see possible fistulisation, and then re-aspirated. The 20% hypertonic saline solution was injected and re-aspiration was performed to the best of our abilities, followed by the insertion of a catheter for drainage of the remaining non-aspiratable fluid content. At follow-up examination, the cyst was not visible on US after 6 months. There was no evidence of cyst recurrence or dissemination after 18 months at serologic and imaging follow-up.