Simultaneous heart and bilateral lung hydatid cyst operated in a single session

A 48 year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of coughing with dispnoea and chest pain. On physical examination he showed marked respiratory difficulty, with a respiratory rate of 25 breaths per minute, and his jugular veins were mildly distended. Transthoracic echocardiography showed a cystic mass located in the diaphragmatic surface of the right ventricular wall without any protrusion into the ventricular cavity. These cardiac and also bilateral pulmonary hydatic cysts were demonstrated by thoracic CT imaging. There were three hydatic cysts which were located in the right middle lobe medial segment (20 mm × 20 mm) and two of them were located in the left lower lobe laterobazal segment (15 mm × 15 mm and 17 mm × 14 mm). Extracorporeal bypass via median sternotomy was used and all components of hydatid cysts in heart and lungs were removed in same session. Patient recovered well. So one-stage surgery by median sternotomy is an excellent approach for cardiac and lung cyst hydatid.