title: Hepatopulmonary fistula caused by alveolar echinococcosis: report of a case.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, North 15, West 7, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kakisaka
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamiyama
authors.forename: Takahito
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
authors.forename: Michiaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Todo
mesh_terms: 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