Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics Main Menu Home Page Echinococcal infestation of the spine in North America.
Preoperative identification is difficult because of lack of characteristic radiographic features.
Successful management is also problematic because of the difficulty of preoperative diagnosis, the invasive nature of the bony involvement, and the variable anaphylactic reaction to the cyst fluid antigen. The diagnosis must be entertained in the differential diagnosis of benign spinal neoplasms especially when dealing with patients from endemic areas.