title: Pseudotumoral hydatid cyst: report of a case.
abstract: Hydatidosis due to Echinococcus granulosus is an endemic parasitic zoonosis characterized by worldwide distribution particularly in Mediterranean countries. The most commonly involved anatomical locations are the liver and lung. Occasionally the cyst may progressively increase in size, mimicking gross ascites or intrabdominal tumor. Herein, are reported a case of a 40-year-old patient with a giant exophytically expanded hepatic echinococcus cyst, misdiagnosed as an abdominal malignancy during formal investigation. The patient was admitted to the hospital complaining for mild diffuse abdominal tenderness, moderate abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea, and vomiting. A CT scan revealed the presence of a giant abdominal mass 25 x 21 x 14 cm, resembling a tumor, adherent to the liver edges and parietal peritoneum, displacing intestinal loops. During the ensuing days the patient's clinical condition worsened, and he became febrile. Exploratory laparotomy was performed, and an exophytically grown giant liver hydatid cyst was removed, despite the radiological findings and the preoperative clinical suspicion.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Heraklion, Medical School of Crete, Heraklion, 71305 Crete, Greece. petrakis@post.com
authors.forename: Ioannis E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Petrakis
authors.forename: Evaggelia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grysbolaki
authors.forename: Stefanos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paraskakis
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lagoudis
authors.forename: Demetrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Filis
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chalkiadakis
mesh_terms: D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
references.citation: Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2003 Sep;388(4):218-30
references.pmid: 12845535
references.citation: World J Surg. 2004 Aug;28(8):731-6
references.pmid: 15457348
references.citation: Swiss Med Wkly. 2004 Aug 7;134(31-32):459-67
references.pmid: 15389350
references.citation: Lancet Infect Dis. 2007 Jun;7(6):385-94
references.pmid: 17521591
references.citation: J Pediatr Surg. 2008 Jun;43(6):E1-4
references.pmid: 18558156
references.citation: J Clin Neurosci. 2008 Apr;15(4):472-3
references.pmid: 18258436
references.citation: Acta Trop. 2003 Feb;85(2):253-61
references.pmid: 12606104
references.citation: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Apr 19;(2):CD003623
references.pmid: 16625588
references.citation: Turk J Gastroenterol. 2008 Mar;19(1):33-9
references.pmid: 18386238
references.citation: Eur J Radiol. 2007 Jul;63(1):84-93
references.pmid: 17275238
references.citation: Am J Surg. 2007 Sep;194(3):313-6
references.pmid: 17693274
references.citation: World J Surg. 2001 Jan;25(1):58-67
references.pmid: 11213157