A patient who had had been treated by surgery for spinal echinococcosis in
a Mediterranean country emigrated to northern Europe. After surgery, the ec
hinococcosis disseminated and he developed chronic lytic and sinus-draining
hydatid disease of the left hip and neuromuscular weakness of the left low
er extremity. Seventeen years after the spinal surgery, he was referred to
our hip service for a possible total hip replacement (THR) after receiving
adequate chemotherapy against echinococcosis for nearly 3 years. Because of
the poor results reported by others, we decided against THR; two of the fo
ur previous patients described in the current literature who had THR died d
ue to complications.