A new approach to the surgical treatment of hydatid cyst.

Hydatid cysts of soft-tissue organs occur in five forms: univesicular, multivesicular, calcified (aborted), ruptured (into adjacent body cavities or host organ ducts), and infected. Each of these distinct forms requires an appropriate surgical approach. For uni- or multivesicular cysts uncontrolled spillage of fertile elements of the parasite is a major hazard. A new method using local freezing of the cyst's outer layer and 0.5% silver nitrate as a scolicidal agent effectively overcomes this problem. Calcified cysts can be left alone. Suppuration or rupture into adjacent body cavities or internal organ channels must be handled according to basic surgical principles and all of the parasitic material removed.