Primary chest wall hydatidosis

Abstract

Background: Primary involvement of muscles is very rare in cases of hydatidosis. Even rarer is a primary hydatid cyst of the thoracic chest wall. Case report: A 50-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a semimobile and well-circumscribed mass at the 6th intercostal space. He had a history of excision of a hydatid cyst at the same location three years earlier. A CT scan revealed a multivesicular cystic mass. Despite having negative antibody titers, he was given a preoperative course of alvendasole. The cystic mass was excised intact. He received two more cycles of alvendasole postoperatively. Conclusions: A multiloculated mass in the thoracic chest wall may well represent a hydatid cyst. A radiographic confirmation obviates the need for further manipulation until the definitive surgical resection Keywords Primary hydatidosis, Soft tissue hydatidosis, Chest wall hydatidosis