Hepatopulmonary fistula caused by alveolar echinococcosis: report of a case.
Alveolar echinococcosis is a parasitosis endemic to red fox habitats in the northern hemisphere. The liver is the most commonly affected organ, followed by the lungs. We report the case of an elderly woman with hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE) complicated by a hepatopulmonary fistula. We performed a one-stage operation for the hepatic and pulmonary lesions through the transdiaphragmatic route via a laparotomy. We report this case to emphasize that the first-line treatment for a hepatopulmonary fistula caused by HAE should be radical surgery, which results in relief of symptoms and a good outcome.
Kakisaka
Tatsuhiko
T
Department of General Surgery, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, North 15, West 7, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.
Sato
Naoki
N
Kamiyama
Toshiya
T
Nakagawa
Takahito
T
Nakanishi
Kazuaki
K
Matsushita
Michiaki
M
Ito
Tomoo
T
Todo
Satoru
S
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001983:Bronchial Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D016154:Digestive System Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D004445:Echinococcosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000601:surgery; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000469:parasitology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed