Original researchSurgical management of hydatid liver disease

- We present a large retrospective clinical study describing our long-term experience about hydatid disease.
- Two hundred thirty two patients were operated for liver hydatid disease between 1978 and 2012.
- Radical surgical procedures were better tolerated by our patients.

Backgroundlarge retrospective clinical study describing the long-term experience of a single center in the surgical management of liver echinococcosis in an endemic area.Methods232 patients were operated for liver hydatid disease between 1978 and 2012. Seventy-three patients (Group A) underwent a radical procedure (total pericystectomy or hepatectomy), while 145 (Group B) were treated with a more conservative method (partial cystectomy, with external drainage, omentoplasty or capitonnage) and 14 (Group C) received a combination of total and partial cystectomies. Morbidity, mortality, post-operative complications and recurrence rates in the long-term setting were retrospectively evaluated.ResultsGroup A patients were treated with zero mortality and a morbidity rate of 10.95%. No recurrence was documented. In Group B, mortality reached 2.76%, (p = 0.153 compared to Group A) morbidity 24.13% (p = 0.021) and there were 10 cases of relapse (6.9%) at three-year complete follow-up (p = 0.989). Extrahepatic sites of disease were not uncommon.Discussionradical surgical procedures were better tolerated by patients and yielded better results in terms of recurrence rates.