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Case Report
Mediastinal dumbbell hydatid cyst compressing the thoracic spinal cord: A case report and literature review
1 Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2 Senior Neurosurgical Resident, Department of Neurosurgery, St. Paul’s Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
3 Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
Address correspondence to:
Abraham Tadele
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
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Article ID: 100125Z06AT2024
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Tadele A, Hussen E, Gebreegziabher B, Mesfin F. Mediastinal dumbbell hydatid cyst compressing the thoracic spinal cord: A case report and literature review. Case Rep Int 2023;12(1):30–35.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Hydatid disease, or echinococcosis, is a parasitic infection of humans caused by tapeworms of the genus Echinococcus. The liver and lungs are the most common organs to be involved. Mediastinal and bone involvement were reported to be rare, 0.1% and 0.5–4%, respectively. Spine involvement has been reported in 50% of patients with bone involvement.
Case Report: We presented a rare case of an 18-year-old male patient with a recurrent mediastinal hydatid cyst which widened the neural foramina, extended into the spinal canal, and compressed the spinal cord. He presented with back pain, spastic paraparesis, and bowel/bladder incontinence. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed polycystic mediastinal mass with erosion of the upper thoracic vertebra and the rib; widening of the neural foramina; extension into the spinal canal and compression of the spinal cord. The patient was operated on. Through a posterior approach, the polycystic mass was removed totally. The mass in the mediastinal (paravertebral) area was removed totally through the widened neural foramen. The cavity was washed with 3% hydrogen peroxide. The histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of a hydatid cyst. Postoperatively the patient was treated with oral albendazole for six months. On the sixth month follow-up, the neurologic status had only mild improvement and the follow-up scan did not show any recurrence of the infection.
Conclusion: Hydatid cysts can rarely involve the mediastinal (paravertebral) area and can extend to the spinal epidural space causing neurologic compromise.
Keywords: Dumbbell tumor, Hydatid cyst, Mediastinum, Spine
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Author Contributions
Abraham Tadele - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Endris Hussen - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Biniam Gebreegziabher - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Fasil Mesfin - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2024 Abraham Tadele et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
