Diagnosis of a Breast Hydatid Cyst Using FNA Cytology
Diagnosis of a Breast Hydatid Cyst Using FNA Cytology
Introduction: A hydatid cyst of the breast is rare and often goes unnoticed by mammography and ultrasound. Preoperative diagnosis may be performed using fine-needle aspiration cytology, which also minimizes the risk of intraoperative rupture.
Case presentation: We report the case of a 70-year-old Spanish woman who was diagnosed with a hydatid cyst using fine-needle aspiration cytology before surgery.
Conclusion: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is an accurate and safe technique that can allow surgery to be avoided, especially in older patients or patients with high surgical risk.
Hydatid cyst disease is a zoonotic infection that results from tissue infestation with the larval stage of the parasite Echinococcus granulosus. The definitive hosts of the parasite are dogs, whereas the intermediate hosts are sheep and other ruminants. Humans are accidental intermediate hosts of this organism. It is an endemic disease that particularly affects people who live in rural areas in intimate contact with cattle. As in other countries of the Mediterranean basin, it is endemic in Spain, where it remains a serious health concern in many of the affected regions.
Hydatid cyst disease can affect all viscera and tissues of the body, with the liver and lungs being the most commonly involved; the kidneys, pancreas, bladder, spleen, ovary, brain, heart, thyroid, bone and muscle are rarely affected. Mammary tissue is also very rarely affected, accounting for only 0.27% of cases.
We present a case of an uncommon preoperative diagnosis following the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of an isolated hydatid cyst of the breast in a 70-year-old woman, and a review of the literature.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Introduction: A hydatid cyst of the breast is rare and often goes unnoticed by mammography and ultrasound. Preoperative diagnosis may be performed using fine-needle aspiration cytology, which also minimizes the risk of intraoperative rupture.
Case presentation: We report the case of a 70-year-old Spanish woman who was diagnosed with a hydatid cyst using fine-needle aspiration cytology before surgery.
Conclusion: Fine-needle aspiration cytology is an accurate and safe technique that can allow surgery to be avoided, especially in older patients or patients with high surgical risk.
Introduction
Hydatid cyst disease is a zoonotic infection that results from tissue infestation with the larval stage of the parasite Echinococcus granulosus. The definitive hosts of the parasite are dogs, whereas the intermediate hosts are sheep and other ruminants. Humans are accidental intermediate hosts of this organism. It is an endemic disease that particularly affects people who live in rural areas in intimate contact with cattle. As in other countries of the Mediterranean basin, it is endemic in Spain, where it remains a serious health concern in many of the affected regions.
Hydatid cyst disease can affect all viscera and tissues of the body, with the liver and lungs being the most commonly involved; the kidneys, pancreas, bladder, spleen, ovary, brain, heart, thyroid, bone and muscle are rarely affected. Mammary tissue is also very rarely affected, accounting for only 0.27% of cases.
We present a case of an uncommon preoperative diagnosis following the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of an isolated hydatid cyst of the breast in a 70-year-old woman, and a review of the literature.
