Hydatid cyst of the mandible: A case report

Infratemporal hydatid cyst – unusual location of echinococcosis

“…According to Altman and Gutman (1966) hydatid cysts in the maxillofacial region are exceptional even in countries were Echinococcus infestation is high. Only occasional case reports are found (Goldsher et al, 1983;Assal and Arafa, 1984;Nandakumar and Shankaramba, 1989;Akyildiz et al, 1991;Onerci et al, 1991).…”

“…Beard (1978) and Burridge et al (1977) are against this theory because following control measures they noticed a rapid reduction in the incidence of the disease in adults. Nandakumar and Shankaramba (1989) stated that hydatid disease in the maxillofacial region presents some difficulties with diagnosis. For this reason they performed a needle aspiration biopsy for their case.…”

Echinoccocal cyst affecting the mandible

“…The Greek word “ Echinococcus ” meaning, “Hedgehog Berry” is a term to describe the gross pathology of the lesion, meaning “a drop of water.” Hippocrates very well described the disease affecting the liver masking it's appearance and aptly described it as “liver filled with water.” Apart from the present case there are only 3 other cases of echinococcal cyst of the mandible reported in the literature. [ 5 6 7 ] other than mandible, echinococcal cyst has been reported to affect the neck, maxilla, pterygopalatine fossa, infratemporal fossa, parotid gland, and base of the skull. In majority of these cases, the disease appeared asymptomatic, docile, and benign in growth with secondary symptoms depending on their location.…”