A home-made device for safe intraoperative aspiration of pulmonary hydatid cysts

Abstract

Surgical intervention is still the main modality for the treatment of hydatid disease. Different surgical procedure have been described; however, in the literature there is no collective agreement on the best surgical strategy. For intact pulmonary hydatid cysts, an enucleation or needle aspiration are possible strategies. Though, both methods need careful manipulation due to the serious complications after fluid rupture. Here, we present a novel technique that allows the aspiration of the cyst while reducing the risk of anaphylaxis and dissemination of disease. This is a home-made double suction device designed to aspirate hydatid cysts by creating a low pressure, wide mouth cylinder which holds the cyst wall against the base of the cylinder. A large thoracentesis needle is inserted across the low pressure chamber into the cyst to aspirate the fluid within. The complete evacuation of the cyst makes surgical treatment easier and facilitates its successive removal. © 2008 Published by European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.