JILTI. 2025; 3(2): 79-82 | DOI: 10.14744/jilti.2025.74946

Multidisciplinary Management of Alveolar Echinococcosis With Bilateral Pulmonary Involvement: A Case Report

Merve Biyikli¹, Murat Kilic¹, Fatih Gonultas², Ramazan Kutlu³, Burak Isik^2
1Department of Thorax Surgery, Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Malatya, Türkiye
²Department of Surgery, Inonu University, Liver Transplantation Institute, Malatya, Türkiye
³Department of Interventional Radiology, Inonu University, Liver Transplantation Institute, Malatya, Türkiye

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a rare, chronic, and invasive parasitic zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the helminth Echinococcus multilocularis, which can often mimic malignancy. While this disease particularly affects the liver, pulmonary involvement is less commonly seen. Bilateral pulmonary involvement has been reported in a very limited number of cases in the literature.
In this study, we present a 45-year-old male patient with liver and bilateral pulmonary involvement. Imaging studies of the patient who presented with abdominal pain revealed an irregularly bordered mass in the right hepatic lobe, a lobulated contoured lesion approximately 2x3 cm in size with calcified areas in the center located subpleurally in the right upper lung lobe, and a lesion approximately 1x2 cm in size in the left lower lung lobe were detected. Under multidisciplinary council management, uniportal VATS wedge resection was applied to the left lower lobe, and the pathology was confirmed as echinococcus alveolaris. Subsequently, wedge resection was performed to the right upper lobe and right hepatectomy was performed for liver involvement.
Following surgical treatment with multidisciplinary approach, the patient was discharged with recovery.

Keywords: Echinococcus Alveolaris, Alveolar Cyst, Pulmonary Cyst, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Zoonotic Disease, Major Hepatectomy

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