Surgery in hydatid cyst of the lung. A report of 460 cases

A series of 460 surgically treated cases of hydatid cyst of the lung is presented. Radiologic preoperative diagnosis was made in 90% of the patients. Cystotomy with subsequent capitonnage was performed in 395 cases, wedge resection in 27, lobectomy in 15 and segmental resection in 23 cases. After careful hemostasis, two drains were placed in the thorax and the thoracic cavity was closed. There were three postoperative deaths (0.6%) and two recurrences of cyst (0.4%) during follow-up investigation for periods up to 10 years.