Hydatid disease of the spine. A long-term followup after surgical treatment.

Vertebral hydatidosis is a relatively silent and slowly progressive disease with a latent period of many years. The prognosis for neurologic recovery in hydatid disease of the spine generally is regarded as poor and posterior surgical decompression is associated with a high recurrence rate. Reported here are the results after a long-term followup of four patients with hydatid disease of the spine with neurologic deficit which significantly improved after anterior surgical decompression and anthelmintic therapy. Adequate preoperative evaluation with magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanning is essential in localizing the lesions and planning the surgical approach. The authors recommend radical excision of the involved vertebra and anthelmintic drugs to control the disease process.