Experience of surgical therapy in 72 patients with thoracic hydatidosis over a 10-year period
Ali, A.; Biluts, H.; Gulilat, D.
Ethiopian Medical Journal 43(1): 1-8
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0014-1755 PMID: 16370523 Document Number: 585734
Objective: This review aims to evaluate retrospectively 72 patients diagnosed to have thoracic hydatid disease and treated surgically in Tikur Anbessa Hospital between December 1993 and November 2003. Design: Retrospective Analysis hospital records. Settings: Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Department of Surgery, Medical Faculty, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Patients and Methods: Medical records and Operation theatre registers of seventy-two Patients operated on for Thoracic hydatidosis were evaluated retrospectively. Chest Roentgenogram was the main diagnostic tool used. Main surgical techniques employed were evacuation in 44 (52.4%) cysts, cystotomy in 30 (35.7%) cysts, and enucleation in 10 (12%) cysts. Additional palliative procedures (such as pericystectomy and Capitonnage) and radical procedures (such as resection of the lung) were also employed. Results: Forty of the patients were male and thirty-two female with a mean age of 31.4 years. The most Common presenting symptoms were cough in 60 (83.3%) patients, expectoration in 47 (65.3%) patients and chest pain in 38 (52.8%) patients. Chest radiography revealed a round opacity or shadow in 58 (80.6%) patients. All patients were treated surgically. The mean hospital stay was 38.3 days. Major postoperative Complications occurred in 12 (16.9%) patients; pneumonia, pleural effusion and prolonged air leak were the complications in order of their frequency. There was one postoperative death and one recurrence at 6-months follow-up period. Conclusion: Surgical excision of pulmonary hydatidosis with maximum preservation of lung parenchyma is possible in the majority of patients and should remain the mainstay of surgical treatment.