759 cysts removed from 29-yr-old's abdomen

Although the surgery was carried out in July, it is only in December that the patient was declared medically fit. Doctors claim that this is one of the biggest cases of its kind in the country.

According to the doctors, the patient complained of severe abdominal pain and bloating for over three months. She also would vomit constantly and was unable to eat properly. An ultrasound test of the abdomen revealed multiple cystic lesions and a CT scan revealed four very large cysts occupying about 50 percent of the abdominal cavity with numerous daughter cysts inside suggesting multiple peritoneal hydatid disease — a parasitic infection. It took the surgeons 4 and a half hours to remove the cysts.

The patient had undergone an operation when she was 7 to remove a cyst, and the doctors believe that some of the fluid from the first cyst may have spilled into the abdomen or the patient may not have taken proper medication which resulted in the situation to aggravate.

“There were cysts on the patient’s liver, portal vein, bile duct, left kidney, large intestine, urinary bladder, large vessels of the right lower limb,” said general surgeon BS Sundaravadanan. “Each large cyst was opened and daughter cysts of different sizes were carefully removed without spillage. The cyst wall was removed completely from surrounding structures with care,” the surgeon added.

“After the operation, the patient was meticulously monitored and was stable during the post-operative period. Peritoneal Hydatid disease is very rare and is caused by consuming contaminated food and water,” said Dr Saveetha Rajesh, the director of the hospital.

Doctors said that the disease is caused by a parasite and is prevalent in areas where there is a large concentration of stray dogs and sheep and it infects humans.

The cattle eat plants with the parasite and once it reaches the abdomen, it begins to multiply, forming cysts. When dogs eat leftovers thrown by the slaughterhouse, they are also likely to get infected. Doctors also advised people to wash hands thoroughly after handling stray dogs as the parasite can also attach itself to the fur.

Doctors said that the worm could also be found in the dog’s hair, so advised public ensure to wash they wash their hands after playing with pets. Madurai, the doctors claimed, is especially vulnerable to Peritoneal Hydatid disease as dogs and goats are reared there.