ABSTRACT
Echinococcosis remains an endemic surgical problem in countries where sheep and cattle raising is carried out, particularly in many Mediterranean countries. The life cycle of echinococcosis is usually marked by the filtration of larvae through the liver and lungs which are the organs most commonly affected by a hydatid cyst. Hydatid cysts in other sites are not common. Cardiac echinococcosis has been reported infrequently even in countries in which hydatid disease is endemic, only isolated sporadic cases have been reported in the literature. Here we report a case of polyvisceral hydatid cyst with involvement of heart and chest wall and reviewed the literature and discussed clinical procedures and management.
Subject(s)
Echinococcosis/surgery , Heart Diseases/parasitology , Thoracic Diseases/parasitology , Adult , Echinococcosis/diagnosis , Female , Heart Diseases/surgery , Humans , Thoracic Diseases/surgeryABSTRACT
Thymoma is a relatively rare tumour. Twelve cases seen in Kuwait Cancer Control Centre over a period of 10 years were analyzed. Two patients had Myasthenia gravis at presentation, and one developed it after the treatment, during remission. Six patients had total resection and four had subtotal resection of the tumour; the remaining had only diagnostic biopsy. All the six patients who had total resection were alive, disease-free with three of them Stage III, whereas, of the four cases who had subtotal resection two are dead, one with local disease and the other with pulmonary metastases. Eight patients were given postoperative radiotherapy and none of them relapsed at the primary site. Of the three patients who had chemotherapy, two had partial remission, and the remaining one failed to show any response. Patients with predominantly epithelial type histology fared worse compared to predominantly lymphocytic type and mixed cell type. Histological subtypes, invasiveness of the tumour and completeness of resection and association of Myasthenia gravis as prognostic features are discussed. The role of radiotherapy and chemotherapy as adjunctive treatment to surgery is reviewed.
