Surgical treatment of hydatid cysts of the liver in the era of percutaneous treatment

Background: Although surgery is the recommended treatment for liver hydatid disease, percutaneous treatment has been introduced as an alternative to surgery. No previous studies have been reported for patients who have not been suitable for percutaneous treatment and undergone surgery. The aim if this study was therefore to evaluate the patients who have liver hydatid disease and not suitable for percutaneous treatment and to determine the effectiveness of different types of surgical interventions in these patients. Patients and methods: Ninety-five patients who underwent operations for liver hydatid disease were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were radiologically evaluated before surgery for possible percutaneous treatment. Besides other related factors, conventional and radical surgical approaches were compared in terms of complication and recurrence rate. Results: Overall complication and recurrence rates were 40% and 25%, respectively. Conventional surgical approaches and common bile duct exploration were significantly associated with an increased complication and recurrence rate. Conclusions: Selection of simple liver hydatid cysts for percutaneous treatment had led us to operate more difficult and complicated cases. It seems that routine use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in the preoperative, period and more efforts to perform radical procedures are two major determinants in the successful treatment of theses complicated cases. (C) 2002 Excerpta Medica, Inc. All rights reserved.