Unknown case: part 2: Vertebral and spinal cord hydatidosis.

The patient was operated upon urgently. The cysts (which were multiple translucent, different sizes, digging a cavity coming into contact with the right renal space without invading it) were totally excised (Figure IC) with irrigation of the cyst fluid contaminated tissues with hypertonic saline. The histopathological result (Figure ID) and the PCR examination confirmed that it was Echinococcus granulosus. There were no postoperative complications, and therapy was completed with albendazole for a period of 2 months, with recovery of neurological deficit after 3 months. Vertebral hydatidosis is said to be a relatively silent, slowly progressive disease with a latent period of many years.' In our patient, cysts invade the spinal canal and cause direct compression and ischémie changes in the spinal cord causing paraplegia. MRI is the best diagnostic methods and surgery is the treatment of choice for spinal hydatidosis, whenever patients present with severe neurological symptoms.'