Minimal access therapy in pediatric pulmonary hydatid cysts.

Hydatid cysts occur commonly in lungs in the pediatric age group. Though medical management has been tried, definitive management of the condition is essentially surgical. Use of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) has been rarely employed for the management of pulmonary hydatid cysts. We present a 10-year-old boy with pulmonary hydatid cysts treated with VATS-assisted minithoracotomy with hydatid cyst enucleation and capitonnage. The patient developed a lung abscess postoperatively and had to undergo lobectomy. The surgical management of pulmonary hydatid cysts is discussed here. The role of minimal access therapy for pulmonary hydatid cysts is highlighted. Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.