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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2003;23:257-258
© 2003 Elsevier Science NL

Letter to the Editor

Primary hydatid cysts of the mediastinum

Paediatric Cardiac Surgery, Alder Hey Hospital, Eaton Road, Liverpool, L12 2 AP, UK

Received 31 October 2002; accepted 13 November 2002.

* Fax: +44-151-252-5643
e-mail: drpurohitm{at}yahoo.com

Key Words: Mediastunum • Hydatid cyst • Echinococcosis • Horner's Syndrome

We read the review article by Eroglu et al. [1] with great interest. This addresses the diagnosis and management of potentially curable mediastinal hydatid cyst. Owing to the location and surrounding vital structures it could give rise to serious, and life threatening complications.

I reported a case of ‘primary mediastinal hydatid cyst’ [2] while working in India. The young lady presented with non-specific symptoms of chest pain, and was diagnosed as having a cystic mediastinal lesion on chest X-ray which was confirmed by CT scan. On examination she had features of Horner's syndrome and mild superior vena cava compression. She was taken up for surgery with a provisional diagnosis of duplication cyst. On thoracotomy the cyst was wedged behind the superior vena cava in the anterior superior mediastinum with the features suggestive of a hydatid cyst. The whole of the intact cyst with some pericyst was removed. The histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of echinococcosis. The patient had an uneventful recovery.

The hydatid cyst is known to occur in all possible unusual anatomical locations [3,4]. The diagnosis requires a high degree of clinical suspicion. Even in non-endemic areas a hydatid cyst must be considered in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal cystic lesions.

References

1. Eroglu A., Kurkcuoglu C., Karaoglanoglu N., Tekinbas C., Kaynar H., Omer O. Primary hydatid cysts of the mediastinum. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2002;22:599-601.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Purohit M., Srivastava C.P., Yadav K.S. Primary mediastinal hydatid cyst. Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci 1999;41(1):57-60.[Medline]
3. Ammann R.W., Eckert J. Cestodes. Echinococcus. Gastroenterol Clin North Am 1996;25(3):655-689.[CrossRef][Medline]
4. Charles H.K. Cestodes (tapeworms). In: Mandell G.L., Bennett J.E., Dolin R., eds. Principles and practice of infectious diseases. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone, 2000:2956-2964.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. H. Kabiri, A. Zidane, F. Atoini, A. Arsalane, and H. Bellamari Primary Hydatid Cyst of the Posterior Mediastinum Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann, October 1, 2007; 15(5): e60 - e62. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Purohit, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Purohit, M. Related Collections Mediastinum