The authors report their experience with 6 patients requiring liver tr
ansplantation who suffered with liver infestation by Echinococcus gran
ulosus. One patient presented with acute Budd-Chiari syndrome because
obstruction of hepatic veins was produced during the first operation;
the other 5 patients received liver transplants for terminal chronic l
iver disease (2 secondary sclerosing cholangitis, 2 secondary biliary
cirrhosis, and 1 postnecrotic cirrhosis of the liver). All the patient
s had been operated previously on for hydatidosis and were at the end
of liver functional disorder. Some of the patients had undergone many
operations, making the transplantation procedure even more difficult.
One patient required a second trans plant for primary graft failure; h
e died 40 days later from cerebrovascular accident. Another patient di
ed 7 months after transplant from pulmonary embolism. The other 4 pati
ents are alive and in optimal condition 37-65 months after transplanta
tion. Hepatic hydatidosis-in principle, a benign disease-can cause hep
atic complications that eventually require liver transplantation. The
transplantation procedure is more difficult than usual in these cases.
Although postoperative complications are frequent, most patients achi
eve prolonged survival and a good quality of life.