Diagnosis and surgical treatment of hepatic hydatid disease

In this report, 226 patients with hydatid disease admitted to the Surgical Department of Erciyes University (Kayseri) and Sişli Etfal Hospital (Istanbul) in Turkey between 1978 and 1990 were reviewed retrospectively. 102 patients (45.1%) were male and 124 (54.9%) female. The most frequent symptom was right upper abdominal pain (66%). The most frequent signs were hepatomegaly (43.8%) and palpable mass (39%). 167 patients (73.9%) were examined with ultrasonography which has a diagnostic value of 94%. Preoperative complications were infection of cyst (7%), intrabiliary rupture (3.5%) and anaphylactic shock (0.4%). Patients were operated on by various techniques; omentoplasty (101), external drainage of residual cavity (64), marsupialization (25), capitonnage (15), introflexion (10), pericystectomy (6), and hepatic resection (5). Main postoperative complications were wound infection (12%) and biliary fistula (2.6%). Total mortality rate was 1.8% in this series.