NEW DELHI: A 45-year-old woman successfully underwent removal of a ruptured Hydatid cyst from her right lung without having an open chest surgery, the first-ever of its kind ever recorded in the world, claimed BL Kapoor Hospital.
The patient from Srinagar showed initial symptoms and discomfort in July this year when she spat blood while coughing.
She underwent a CT scan of the chest which revealed 43 X 35mm cyst, which is equivalent to the size of a tennis ball, in the superior segment of the lower lobe of the right lung.
“Her condition kept deteriorating, and she went into respiratory distress. The patient was unable to lie down and had not been able to rest easy for close to two months.
“The patient came with severe breathlessness and constantly felt a salty-bitter taste in her mouth. Doctors suspected the symptoms to be caused by a ruptured Hydatid cyst,” said the hospital in a statement.
The patient immediately underwent bronchoscopy which revealed some whitish membranous structure inside her lung - a rare case of hydatid cyst whose removal was a challenge due to its positioning and breakage. A team led by Dr Sandeep Nayar HOD, Chest & Respiratory Diseases was formed who first flushed out the spilt fluids/contents from both lungs.
“Then the membrane was frozen and extracted through the mouth, it gave immediate relief to the patient from her symptoms. This procedure was performed through a bronchoscope under local anaesthesia. CT chest and bronchoscopy repeated after four days ensured that the lung was completely cleared of the cyst,” the hospital stated.
“Usually, the most common form of treatment for cystic echinococcosis is the open surgical removal of the cyst, combined administration of chemotherapy.” “In this case, the patient was very reluctant to undergo surgery and wanted immediate relief from her respiratory distress. The entire procedure took around 45 minutes. If we had opted for surgery, we may have experienced several complications,” said
Dr Nayar.