[Indications for the various surgical procedures in hepatic echinococcosis]

This report deals with 38 patients suffering from hydatid disease of the liver. The most frequently performed operative procedures were hepatic resection (n = 16), filling the cavity with normal saline solution (n = 16), filling the cavity with normal saline solution (n = 8), and total cystectomy (n = 6). Hepatic resection is mainly indicated in patients with alveolar echinococcosis of the liver lobe have to be removed. In patients with only one hydatid cyst of the liver the simple method of saline filling should be preferred. The prerequisite of saline filling is that no biliary fistula exists. If the remaining cavity of the hydatid cyst fills with bile, it can be easily drained under local anaesthesia with computertomographic control. Mebendazole was given in two cases with alveolar echinococcosis of the liver that could not be treated surgically. In both cases this treatment proved to be effective.