Echinococcus Cyst of the Lung

¹ Surgical Service, Veterans Administration Hospital.

Echinococcus cysts of the lung are rarely seen in the United States and therefore are frequently forgotten in the differential diagnosis of diseases of the lung. The incidence of disease due to echinococcus may increase in this country because large numbers of the armed forces have served in areas where infestation is common. The various diagnostic tests for hydatid disease should be done in all patients with moderately large or large round lesions of the lung. If these tests are negative, echinococcus disease must be remembered even at the time of thoracotomy. Aspiration of such round lesions should never be done because of the remote possibility that hydatid disease may be present. The choice of operation in the individual patient must be guided by whether the cyst is simple or complicated. In the small simple cysts, enucleation and closure of the resulting cavity by suture should be done. Wher the simple cyst is large, segmental resection or lobectomy is indicated. A complicated cyst may require segmental resection, lobectomy, pneumonectomy, or marsupialization. The diagnosis of an echinococcus cyst was made in a 26 year old Negro who had served in the African and in the Italian campaigns in World War II. Segmental resection was successful.