Surgical treatment of hydatid disease of the liver: an experience from outside the endemic area.

Background/aims: Hydatid disease is quite rare in European countries outside the endemic area around the Mediterranean Sea. Most of the cases observed in Central and Northern Europe occur in emigrants from the endemic area, whose number has been increasing over the last decade. In Switzerland about twenty-five new cases are being diagnosed per year, an incidence of about 0.33 cases per 10(5) inhabitants. Surgery remains the principal treatment modality of hydatid liver disease. There is still debate about conservative surgery as opposed to radical surgical treatment in which the cyst is totally removed including the pericyst by total cystoperi-cystectomy, partial hepatectomy or a combination of both. Surgeons working inside the endemic area tend to favor conservative methods, whereas those outside the endemic area have the tendency to favor radical surgery. This article reviews the results of surgery for liver hydatid disease obtained in a country outside the endemic area.

Patients And Methods: In our institution 24 patients (12 female, 12 male) have been treated for liver hydatid disease from 6/1983 to 2/1995. Twenty-two patients were immigrants from the endemic area. Surgery indication was primary liver hydatid disease in 23 patients, and recurrent disease in one.

Results: Twenty-one patients underwent radical procedures, and three were treated by cystectomy, unroofing and omentoplasty. Radical procedures were pericystectomy in 11 patients, partial hepatectomy in five and pericystectomy combined with partial hepatectomy in five. There was no operative mortality in 23 patients operated on for primary disease, but the only patient operated upon for recurrence died from anaphylactic shock. Eighteen of the 23 surviving patients could be followed up for a median time of 6.5 years (eight months to 12.5 years). Sixteen of 18 patients have remained free of recurrence. One has been reoperated for a retrocaval recurrence four years after right hepatectomy, and one patient is being observed for suspected recurrence after unroofing and omentoplasty.

Conclusions: The policy of applying radical surgery whenever feasible can be followed with acceptable morbidity and near zero mortality. Radical surgery has, however, to be applied judiciously, and there is still an important role for conservative surgery.