Assessment of cases with intracranial hydatid cyst: A 23-year experience [İntrakranial hidatik kist olgulari{dotless}ni{dotless}n deǧerlendirilmesi: 23 yi{dotless}lli{dotless}k deneyim]

Objective: brain is involved in 1-2% of hydatid cyst infections. a cranial location is rare. in this study,we aimed to assess clinical findings,radiological investigations,and treatment modalities of cases with intracranial hydatid cyst. materials and method: the present study included 26 patients operated for cerebral hydatid cyst disease between january 1990 and october 2012. results: seventeen patients were male and 9 were female. the mean age of the study population was 20.3 years (range 7-50 years). headache and nausea were the most common clinical symptoms. the lesions were demonstrated by computed tomography (ct) and magnetic resonance imaging (mri) as large,smooth,thin walled,spherical-shaped,cystic homogenous lesions with the same density as cerebro spinal fluid,which showed no edema or contrast uptake. two patients were complicated or infected cysts with perifocal edema and contrast uptake. in 20 patients,the cysts were removed completely with dowlings technique,by rectifying cysts without rupturing. eleven patients with ruptured cysts during operation,recurrent or systemic hydatid cyst were treated medically. conclusion: medical therapy appears effective in hydatid cyst disease. cerebral hydatid cysts should be excised totally without rupturing them. preoperative imaging techniques are central to surgical planning. intracranial hydatid cyst should be remembered when ct or mri shows a cystic lesion,especially in countries where hydatid cyst is endemic.