Hydatid disease of the spine

In 42 cases of hydatid diseases of the spine the preoperative diagnosis was as follows: hydatid disease--19, benign tumour--8, Tuberculosis--6, malignant disease--4, herniated disk--3, syringomyelia--1, infectious spondylitis--1. The site of the hydatid lesion in these patients was as follows: cervical--5, thoracic (T6-T12)--26, lumbosacral--11. Seven of these cases had previously been operated on for a hydatid cyst in other organs. We had eight recurrences of which five did not respond completely to surgical intervention.