Primary Axillary Hydatid Cyst
D. Mercuţ, A. Andriţoiu, E.T. Traşcă, C. Siloşi, A. Resceanu, R. MercuţClinical case, no. 4, 2014
Echinococcosis (hydatid disease) is a zoonosis caused bythe larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (or Taeniaechinococcus). The adult form of the parasite lives in the gut ofthe dog, while the intermediate hosts, where the tapewormdevelops to larval stage are cats, cattle, pigs and humans(considered to be accidental intermediate hosts). The parasitehas a worldwide distribution, but the endemic areas are Canadaand Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, South America and theMediterranean region. Hydatid cyst can grow many years beforethe symptoms and clinical signs appear. The liver and the lungsare the most affected organs, but primary location of the hydatiddisease in the axilla is extremely rare. In our country we did notfind any records of axillary hydatid disease, while theliterature contains only 12 cases of axillary location. We presentthe case of a woman, 60 years old, with a primary axillarylocation of hydatid cyst, who underwent a total cystectomy.
