Do cyst wall thickness and cyst size have any effect on the intra-operative inadvertent rupture of echinococcal hydatid cyst of central nervous system?

Our primary aim was to investigate whether there is any association between thickness of the hydatid cyst's wall and size and whether it has any effect on intact removal of the cyst, independent of the surgeons' technique. Sixteen cases of echinococcal hydatid cyst of the central nervous system, operated on between 1991 and 2007 by various surgeons, were examined. Cyst diameter was directly measured on the specimen or calculated on radiological scans. Histological preparations were made identically by cutting 5-microm-thick longitudinal sections from paraffin blocks of formalin-fixed tissue and stained with HE. Wall thickness was measured using a micrometer by the same pathologist blinded to the measurements of cyst diameter. Cyst diameter and wall thickness correlated negatively (the larger the cyst the thinner the cyst wall); however this was not statistically significant. Neither the cyst size nor the wall thickness proved to be statistically significant as a factor having an effect on intact removal of the cyst. In conclusion, the cyst size and wall thickness do not have any effect on the intact removal of hydatid cyst. It seems that the use of appropriate surgical techniques play the most effective role in outcome of hydatid cyst surgery.