[Diagnosis and therapy of liver echinococcus (author's transl)]

From 1970 to April 1975 42 patients were treated for Echinococcus of the liver at the Bonn University Dept. of Surgery. There were 33 cases of E. cysticus and 9 cases of E. alveolaris. These two types of Echinococcus, different in parasitology and epidemiology present different clinical manifestation of disease with different course and prognosis. Angiography with celiaco- and superselective hepaticography are decisive for diagnosis. Therapy can only be surgical with total removal of the parasites. In E. cysticus this is almost always possible by enucleation-resection or pericystectomie following evacuation of the cyst and instillation of 20% sodium-chloride or formaldehyde. Such radicality is the exception in E. alveolaris. Here partial resections, biliodigestive and hepatodigestive anastomoses as palliative measures are carried out predominantly to ensure bile passage.