Abstract:

Hydatid disease is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind. In 85-95% of the cases, the liver and/or the lung are involved and in only 5-15% the cyst occurs at the other sites. Echinococcal cysts are mostly found in the liver (60%-70% of cases), followed by the lungs (10%-25%), spleen, ovaries, kidneys, brain, bones and heart, but rarely elsewhere in the body.1-3 Retroperitoneal location of hydatid cyst is encountered rarely and only occasional case reports have appeared since Lockhart and Sapinza first reported this entity in 1958.4-6 Primary retroperitoneal hydatid cyst is extremely rare. Hydatid disease in extrahepatic locations usually remains asymptomatic unless the cyst grows and produces symptoms due to pressure, rupture to the pleural or peritoneal cavity, secondary infection, or an allergic reaction. The differential diagnosis of a retroperitoneal cystic mass includes soft tissue tumors, cystic lymphangioma, retroperitoneal abscess, pseudocyst, and embryonal cysts.7-8 We reported a rare case of a 21-year-old woman with a hydatid cyst in her left retroperitoneum, with concomitant left diaphragmatic involvement.

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