Mediastinal cystic lesions: a rare entity

Hydatid cysts are caused by infection with a tapeworm parasite called Echinococcus granulosus.
They are usually located in the liver and lungs. This is a case report of a mediastinal hydatid cyst. Although
many uncommon locations of this disease are reported in the medical literature, only a few papers mention this type
of lesion in the mediastinum. Case summary: We report the case of a mediastinal cyst in a 58-year-old Belgian female
patient presenting chest pain, dry cough and dyspnea during the last four weeks. She was travelling to Tunisia two
months before her admission. The diagnosis is suspected by Ultrasound coupled with CT-scan and confirmed by the
surgical findings and the histopathological study. The therapeutic attitude was aggressive (cyst excision surgery), to
avoid any complication or degeneration among the surrounding vital structures. Conclusion: Mediastinal hydatid cysts
are extremely rare and must be considered in the differential diagnosis of the cystic masses of the mediastinum even
in a non-endemic area, due to tourism and current important migration movements across Europe. Chest scan is the
preferred imaging tool in diagnosis. Surgical removal of the cyst is the most common treatment.