Unilateral primitive hydatid cyst with surgical resection of the scrotum: a case report

Hydatid disease remains a public health problem in many Mediterranean countries. Liver and lung localizations are the most common. Renal hydatid cysts represent 2 percent to 4 percent of the visceral forms of this disease. To the best of our knowledge a scrotal location has only previously been described in five papers in the literature, all being secondary localizations. In this paper, we report a case of a primitive scrotal hydatid cyst.

A Moroccan man aged 29 years old presented to our facility with scrotal pain. A clinical examination identified a painless scrotal mass. The results of a scrotal ultrasound showed intra-scrotal cystic formations with different sizes associated with scrotal effusion of average abundance. Chest cavity and abdominal computed tomography scans did not reveal any other localizations. Our patient benefited from surgical protruding dome resection. A partial cysto-pericystectomy was realized. The first stage consisted of injecting a scolicide solution; hydrogen peroxide is the most commonly used agent. This is injected into the cystic cavity and retained for 10 minutes. This process allows for sterilization of the cyst while avoiding the risk of rupture and transmission of the hydatid liquid into the circulation. After 10 minutes, the cystic contents are removed by suction. The cyst is then opened, and the endocyst containing the hydatid membrane and daughter vesicles are removed. It is of note that our patient did not receive any additional medical treatment. Our diagnosis was made using an imaging approach and was confirmed during surgery.

Ultrasound is often the key diagnostic approach for cases of a scrotal hydatid cyst. Treatment is primarily surgical, aiming for resection of the protruding dome via a longitudinal scrotectomy.