Primary Hydatid Cyst of the Thigh – A Case Report

Hydatid cyst is caused by the dog tapeworm echinococcus granulosus. Hydatid cysts are most frequently found in the liver (75%) and lungs (15%) and 10% occur in any part of the human body. Primary muscular hydatidosis is very rare and occurs in 1-4% in of all hydatidosis. The localizations of hydatid cyst in muscles is rare 0.7-0.9% even in endemic countries. Muscular hydatidosis is rare, because of muscle lactic acid content and muscle contraction, there two factors that likely prevent cyst growth in striated muscles.

Muscle hydatid disease most often manifests as a slow growing soft-tissue tumour and mostly present with a painless growing mass. However, the cyst is clinically asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally. The most common skeletal muscle sites include the hip and thigh and the shoulder and humours regions.

We report a rare case of primary hydatid cyst of the right thigh in a 32 years’ male patient, with asymptomatic thigh mass and diagnosed on ultrasonography. We performed total surgical excision of the mass with pericystectomy, and Albendazole therapy was given preoperative and postoperatively.