Alveolar Hydatid Disease of the Liver: Rationale and Technics of Surgical Treatment

Authors

John T. West, United States National Institutes of HealthFollow
F. J. Hillman, Anchorage, Alaska
Robert L. Rausch, U. S. Public Health Service (Anchorage, Alaska)Follow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

4-1963

Comments

Published in the Annals of Surgery (April 1963) 157(4): 548-555.

Abstract

Cestodes of the genus Echinococcus cause two distinct diseases: the well-known cystic hydatid disease found in stock-raising areas, caused by E. granulosus, and the more rare alveolar hydatid disease, which is limited to the northern hemisphere and is caused by the biologically and morphologically distinct E. multilocularis.

Eight cases of alveolar hydatid disease of the liver are reported from Alaska, including three patients who underwent hemihepatectomy for advanced lesions. Radical resection is concluded to be the only rational treatment for this otherwise progressive and fatal disease.