Spinal Hydatid Cyst Disease.

OBJECTIVE: A hydatic cyst (HC) is a zoonotic infection affecting the liver and lungs, with rare spinal involvement. We discuss the long-term results in 8 patients with spinal HC who were monitored at our clinic for 7 to 15 years.

METHODS: The demographic data and clinicopathologic characteristics of 8 patients with spinal HC diagnosed between 2000 and 2016 were evaluated for their contribution to recurrence, and the long-term follow-up results were examined.

RESULTS: Four male and 4 female patients with a median age of 30.75 years (range, 17-45 years) at the first surgery were included. Infections were localized in the thoracic (3), thoracolumbar (1), lumbar (1), sacral (1), cervicothoracic (1), and lumbosacral (1) regions. Two patients had secondary HCs that spread from another organ (lung and kidney). Patients underwent 2 to 5 surgeries during the study period, with an average follow-up time of 8.5 years (range, 7-15 years) after the first surgery. The surgical treatments included an anterior corpectomy and anterior plate for a patient with cervical localization and cystectomy for a patient with sacral localization; the other patients underwent cystectomy with corpectomy and stabilization with an anterior approach, cyst excision and laminectomy with a posterior approach, or additional posterior transpedicular screw stabilization. The patients were prescribed albendazole.

CONCLUSIONS: Spinal HC treatment is difficult, particularly in patients with vertebral and paraspinal involvement, spinal instability, and recurrence. Long-term follow-up is critical, and patients require medical and surgical treatment, with regular clinical, radiologic, and serologic examinations. The cysts must be removed without rupture during surgery, and the surgical area must be irrigated with hypertonic saline solution to reduce the risk of recurrence.