Orbital Hydatid Cyst—Believe It, Diagnose It And Treat It

1. Dr Mukesh Sharma
2. Dr Mamta Sharma
3. Dr Deepika
4. Dr Kunj Lata

S.M.S.Medical College, Jaipur, India

Purpose: Hydatid cyst of orbit seldom comes as a possibility in proptosis evaluation since it's a rarity, even in endemic regions but stray cases do present even in non endemic areas . Once it is suspected managing this entity is difficult and not clearly defined, we derived a management protocol for this rare entity and studied our cases.

Methods: Five consecutive cases with orbital hydatid cyst who presented between January 1999- Jan 2009 at SMS medical college ,Jaipur (India) were reviewed. All were given medical treatment initially in form of Albendazole 15 mg per kg/day for 3 months while surgery was reserved for nonresponsive cases.

Results: One patient could be cured completely on medical treatment while 4 patients required surgery in form of cystectomy with removal of the germinal and laminated layers and preservation of pericyst. Medical treatment was continued even after surgery for one month to prevent secondary echinococcosis because of subtle/ overt spillage during surgery ,all patients could be cured completely.

Conclusions: Diagnostic possibility of hydatid cyst has to be kept in mind in proptosis evaluation .Though treatment of choice is surgery medical treatment do have a role, a favorable outcome can be achieved in this entity by employing our treatment regimen.