Bangalore: A 12 year old boy from Iraq was relieved of 160 cysts which were present in his heart by the doctors at Fortis Hospital, Bannerghatta Road. The team of doctors were led by Dr Vivek Jawali, Chief Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore and Dr. Nischal Rajendra Pandya, Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Bannerghatta Road

 

Hydatid cysts or hydatid disease is a rare parasitic infection occurring mainly in the sheep rearing areas of the world. Animals like sheep are intermediate hosts and dogs are definite hosts. Man is an aberrant intermediate host. On reaching the humans, it migrates from the gut and usually reaches the liver and the lungs. However, in this case, the infection had reached the heart and formed a cyst measuring 5*4cms.

 

Dr. Nischal Rajendra Pandya, Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Fortis Hospital Bannerghatta Road, said, “Cases of intracardiac hydatid cysts are uncommon. In this case, the parents of the young boy had brought him to us with complaints of chronic cough and fever. The CT scan from Iraq showed the presence of a globular intracardiac mass. However on further investigation, we confirmed a plum sized intracardiac cystic lesion with multiple echogenic cysts within. It was a complicated surgery as there were high chances of the cysts to burst and disseminate in the entire body. We made sure that the cavities were packed with hypertonic saline in order to avoid contamination, the cysts were then visualised and carefully removed. The four hour long surgery was successfully conducted and the patient withstood the procedure well.”

 

Dr Vivek Jawali, Chief Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, Chairman, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Fortis Hospitals, Bangalore, said, “There are certain diseases that do not show any signs or symptoms but require utmost precaution. Similarly, hydatid cysts are parasitic infestation which can reach a human being through the faeces of the hosts like dogs. In this case, the boy was known to have contact with sheep and dogs through which it was transmitted. These infections generally progress from the gut to the lungs, however in this case it was unusual. Timely diagnosis and surgery should be conducted carefully as there are a lot of risk factors involved. Lastly, people should be aware of the diseases, the modes of transmission, its hosts and the method of precaution.”

 

Abhia(name changed), mother of the patient said, “We were really worried about our child’s health and were clueless of the next step to be taken, that is when one of our relatives suggested us to visit the doctors at Fortis. We were informed about our child’s condition and the treatment that was required for him. The doctors were very cooperative throughout the procedure and gave us immense support. We are very thankful to Fortis hospital for saving our child’s life.”

 

Hydatid disease is a potentially serious and fatal disease which can be cured if treated at the right time and with the right technique. It is widely endemic in the Middle Eastern countries, but it rarely occurs during childhood. This case usually involves the liver which accounts to 50–70 percent or the lungs accounting to 20–30 percent. Isolated intracardiac hydatids are very rare accounting to less than 2% of cases.