Hydatid Disease of the Spleen: Single-Center Experience and a Brief Literature Review

Background The aim of this study was to discuss the management of patients with splenic hydatid cyst (SHC) and to provide a review of the literature in this field. Methods The outcomes of patients surgically treated for SHC at the Diyarbakir Education and Research Hospital (DERH) between January 2006 and May 2013 were assessed by retrospectively reviewing demographic, radiological, and clinical data. In addition, the outcome profiles of these patients were compared to the overall outcomes of surgically treated SHC cases reported in the literature. Relevant case series (≥4 cases) were identified by searching the PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar databases for publications from 1990 to May 2013 in English or Turkish languages. Results Nine patients with SHC received surgical treatment at DERH (age range, 18–53 years old; mean, 36.9 ± 11.8; female/male, 7/2), including five (55.6 %) primary SHC and four (44.4 %) secondary (100 % liver) SHC cases. Two patients had previous SHC surgery. Seven patients received albendazole therapy, both preoperative (10–21 days) and postoperative (10–42 days) periods. All patients received vaccination, either preoperative ( n = 4) or postoperative ( n = 5). Six patients underwent splenectomy and three underwent splenectomy with partial cystectomy and omentopexy, and no patient experienced SHC recurrence during follow-up (1–60 months). The literature review identified 27 full-text articles representing 333 surgically treated SHC cases, among which 60.5 % had primary SHC and 39.5 % had secondary SHC. Two hundred thirty of 333 patients underwent splenectomy, 81 underwent spleen-sparing surgery, and 17 underwent puncture, aspiration, injection, and reaspiration. The remaining five patients were not operated for various reasons. Conclusion We found no significant difference in recurrence rates between splenectomy and spleen-sparing surgery, either in our patient cohort or among cases reported in the literature. Nevertheless, we cannot make any solid recommendations for either procedure based on these results, as the studies were largely retrospective.