Hepatic alveolar echinococcosis with chest wall metastasis: a case report

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Echinococcus multilocularis infection, predominantly colonizes the liver and may metastasize to the lungs or brain in advanced stages. Involvement of extrapulmonary sites such as the chest wall or subcutaneous tissues is exceedingly rare, even in endemic regions. The nonspecific clinical manifestations and imaging features of chest wall AE pose diagnostic challenges, necessitating histopathological confirmation. We present a case of a 48-year-old female admitted with a chief complaint of a right supra-mammary mass persisting for over 1 year. Imaging studies revealed a cystic lesion in the right chest wall and a hypodense hepatic lesion in the right lobe, suggestive of hydatid disease. The patient underwent combined hepatic segmentectomy and chest wall mass resection under general anesthesia. Histopathological examination confirmed AE infection in both hepatic and anterior chest wall specimens. The patient achieved complete recovery with no postoperative complications and was discharged uneventfully. Regular oral albendazole therapy has been maintained for 6 months postoperatively, with no recurrence to date.