Chest Wall Hydatidosis as the Unique Location of the Disease: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

The chest wall is a rare location of secondary hydatidosis, but secondary hydatidosis may occur from the rupture of a lung cyst, from a liver cyst invading the diaphragm into the pleural cavity, following previous thoracic surgery for hydatidosis, or by hematogenous spread. This report describes a case of chest wall hydatidosis, which was the primary disease site in the patient, who had no previous history or current disease (hydatidosis) at other sites. The cyst invaded and partially destroyed the 9th and 10th ribs and the 10th thoracic vertebra, and protruded outside the pleural cavity through the 9th intercostal space. Preoperative albendazole administration for 10 days, surgical resection of the disease through a posterolateral thoracotomy incision, and postoperative albendazole treatment resulted in a cure with no evidence of local recurrence or disease at other sites in four years of follow-up.