Spleen-preserving surgery is effective for the treatment of spleen cystic echinococcosis

Objective: This study evaluated two surgical procedures, total splenectomy and spleen-preserving surgery, for the treatment of spleen cystic echinococcosis (CE). Methods: A total of 21 patients who underwent surgery for removal of spleen CE were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were divided into two groups, those who received a total splenectomy (n = 7) and those who underwent spleen-preserving surgery (n = 14). Results: Total splenectomy surgery took 127.1 ± 11.1 min and spleen-preserving surgery took 104.3 ± 25.3 min (p < 0.05). The length of hospital stay was the same for both patient groups (10.6 days on average). No patient suffered from recurrence during follow-up and all of the patients made a good recovery. No patient developed post-splenectomy sepsis or serious infectious complications. No patient suffered recurrence. Conclusions: The spleen-saving approach is likely an effective method for the removal of CE spleen cysts given that it is a quick procedure and preserves the function of the spleen. Total splenectomy procedures may be performed particularly for larger, centrally located cysts