A solitary primary subcutaneous hydatid cyst in the abdominal wall of a 70-year-old woman: a case report

We report a case of a 70-year-old Caucasian woman who presented to our hospital with a subcutaneous mass in the para-umbilical area with a non-specific clinical presentation. The diagnosis of subcutaneous hydatid cyst was suspected on the basis of radiological findings. A complete surgical resection of the mass was performed and the patient had an uneventful post-operative recovery. The histopathology confirmed the suspected diagnosis.Hydatid cyst should be considered in the differential diagnosis of every subcutaneous cystic mass, especially in regions where the disease is endemic. The best treatment is the total excision of the cyst with an intact wall.Hydatid disease is a parasitic infestation that is caused by Echinococcus granulosis, the life cycle of which has been well described [1]. Endemic areas are countries of the temperate zones, where the common intermediate hosts, sheep, goats, and cattle, are raised, such as in North Africa, the Middle East, Central Europe, Australia, and South America [1,2]. The liver is the most frequently involved organ (75%), followed by the lung (15%) [2,3]. The solitary primary subcutaneous localization is extremely rare, and its incidence is unknown [2]. In our patient, the hydatid cyst was located in the abdomen anterior wall without any other involvement, which makes this an interesting case.A 70-year-old Moroccan Caucasian woman presented to our hospital with a subcutaneous cystic mass in the right para-umbilical abdominal wall which had been evolving for six months. Her physical examination revealed an abdominal parietal mass 6 cm in diameter that was palpated 5 cm to the right of the umbilicus. It was cystic, fluctuant, mobile, and painless. The overlying skin was normal. An abdominal ultrasound showed a rounded cystic mass that was limited within the right para-umbilical abdominal wall and measured 60 mm. No other abdominal cystic mass was found. The pre-operative examinations (chest radiograph, complete blood count, urin