Primary splenic hydatid cyst an unexpected diagnosis: Case report

INTRODUCTION: Hydatid disease is endemic in farming areas but occurs worldwide. The most common site of disease is liver. Hydatid disease of the spleen is a rare condition. Worldwide incidence of splenic hydatid is 0.5–4%. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment. The standard treatment is open total or partial splenectomy. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 28 year-old female patient was referred to our institution, after coincidental sonography finding. On abdominal examination, there was no sensitization, and there was no resistance or rebound. Ultrasound showed an enlarge spleen; an abdominal CT confirmed the presence of a splenic cyst at the lower pole of the spleen of 7 cm in diameter, no other organ involvement. The biological confirmation was made by indirect hemagglutination. Spleen-sparing surgery was performed. Macroscopic and microscopic examination of the specimen confirmed Hydatid cyst. The patient was discharged from hospital on the seventh postoperative day with a prescription for albendazole (2 × 400 mg/day) for three months. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The rarity of primary splenic hydatid disease poses a diagnostic challenge for clinicians, the disease should be considered in differential in every patient in endemic areas with cystic lesion of spleen until proved otherwise, it may be detected incidentally or present with non-specific complaints, preservation surgery should always be tried to avoid post splenectomy infection, especially in young patients.