Spinal echinococcal cyst: treatment using computerized tomography-guided needle aspiration and hypertonic saline irrigation. Case report.

A multilocular extradural cervical spinal hydatid cyst that causes severe spinal cord compression and quadriplegia is relatively rare and difficult to treat. In a patient with this disorder, computerized tomography-guided needle aspiration of the cyst loculations and irrigation using hypertonic saline eliminated the need for emergency surgery and provided complete resolution of the patient's quadriplegia. The subsequent course of the disease was controlled by treatment with albendazole. Magnetic resonance imaging performed 4 months after the procedure demonstrated collapsed cysts and absence of spinal cord compression.