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.