Pancreas hydatic cyst: a case report

ABSTRACT

Echinococcal involvement of the pancreas is extremely rare. The clinical presentation is polymorph and the diagnosis is rarely evocated before surgery. We report a 60-year-old woman presenting with epigastric pain. Abdominal examination found an epigastric mass. Radiologie explorations [Abdominal ultrasound and a computed tomography scan] revealed a pancreatic cyst located in the corpus and in the tail. The diagnosis of hydatid cyst was made at laparotomy. The cyst was treated by aspiration and injection of hypertonic saline solution followed by cystectomy. Three years later, the patient was asymptomatic without recurrence of hydatic cysts. Epidemiological, clinical, biological and radiological data should allow better detection of hydatid cysts of pancreas. Surgical treatment depends on the location of the cyst in the pancreas