[The splenic hydatid disease: our experience].

The Authors report on a series of 5 patients with splenic hydatidosis submitted to surgery during the period 1974-2003. In 2 cases the cyst was solitary while 2 patients had a concomitant liver hydatidosis and 1 a synchronous lung cyst; one patient had been previously submitted to surgery twice for an hepatic cyst. In 1 patient the disease was asymptomatic, while 2 cases were revealed by pain and 3 by an abdominal mass. In all patients the diagnosis was preoperatively made by serological test in 1 and by CT scan in 5 and it was proved by surgery and pathology. All the patients underwent splenectomy with complete removal of the cyst. Median postoperative hospital stay was of 17.5 days (range 7-31 days). Postoperative course was regular without mortality and morbidity in 4 patients, while 1 patient developed a subphrenic abscess (overall morbidity = 20%) that required surgical drainage. No recurrences occurred after a mean follow-up of 187 months (range 169-217 months). The Authors believe that the diagnosis of splenic hydatid disease is more accurate today because of the new image techniques and that splenectomy is the surgical procedure to be preferred because it is simple and safe.