Staged management of a giant cardiac hydatid cyst: a case report

BACKGROUND: We report on a 21-year-old patient with a giant symptomatic hydatid cyst of the interventricular septum, to whom a staged management approach was employed. Induction medical therapy led to a reduction in the size of the cyst, which was then completely removed via surgical excision. CASE PRESENTATION: A 21-year-old male Caucasian, with main complaints of fatigue and palpitations, was referred to our Centre due to a cystic formation in his left ventricle. The workup consisted of transthoracic echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance, which revealed a huge hydatid cyst in an active stage of disease, occupying the basal and mid part of the interventricular septum. Due to the size of the lesion and lack of viable myocardium in the affected area, the patient was declared inoperable and medical therapy was initiated. Serial echocardiography revealed a significant reduction in the size of the lesion and degradation to transitional and inactive stage, after which successful surgical excision of the cyst was performed. In the course of the medical treatment, the patient experienced sustained ventricular tachycardia causing loss of consciousness, which did not reoccur after surgical excision. CONCLUSION: Medical therapy can result in the degradation of a giant heart hydatid cyst, enabling surgical excision. Heart hydatid cyst can lead to potentially lethal arrhythmia irrespective of its size and stage, which does not reoccur after successful surgical excision. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-018-3599-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.