Dimitris Zacharoulis

By Michalis Katsimpoulas, Dimitris Zacharoulis, Nagy Habib and Alkiviadis Kostakis

Part of the book: Chemical Biology

By Eleni Zachari, Eleni Sioka, George Tzovaras and Dimitris Zacharoulis

Part of the book: Pulmonary Embolism

By Angeliki Vidoura, Mariana Parisidou, Christina Chatedaki and Dimitris Zacharouli

Management of hydatid disease carries a substantial risk of complications and recurrence. The ultimate goal of surgery is to kill the parasites, evacuate the cyst, remove the germinal layer, and obliterate the residual cavity all while preserving the healthy liver tissue. In endemic areas, a conservative approach is preferred. The open surgeries have a substantial risk of complications, such as bile leakage, parasite contamination, and presence of dead spaces, in which an abscess can form. These complications then have to be managed with more radical surgical approaches. The most commonly used surgical approaches are pericystectomy, partial pericystectomy, and even hepatic resection. With the right indications, subadventitial cystectomy has low postoperative complication, mortality, and recurrence. The condition of the cyst and the patient, the general status of the patient and the cyst size, location, and pathology are factors that indicate the optimal surgical approach.

Part of the book: Echinococcosis

By Kleoniki Vangelakou, Maria M. Pitsilka, Dimitrios Magouliotis and Dimitris Zacharoulis

Treatment of cystic echinococcosis of the liver still remains a debatable subject. The method of choice should aim for the total elimination of the parasite with minimum morbidity and mortality. Different approaches have been proposed. Medical treatment as a monotherapy has been abandoned due to the high chances of recurrence and is mostly used as an adjuvant to surgery or minimally invasive methods. Surgical methods are divided into conservative ones, which include cystectomy and partial pericystectomy, and radical ones, total pericystectomy and hepatectomy. Radical procedures are correlated with lower complication and recurrence rates and, therefore, should be attempted when indications are present. On the other hand, conservative surgery can be the first option in endemic areas, performed by non-specialized general surgeons. The development of laparoscopic techniques made their use a possible alternative approach in selected cases. The use of percutaneous treatments is also quite widespread due to their minimally invasive nature. New energy devices seem to play a significant role in the treatment of cystic echinococcosis, although more studies are needed to establish their efficacy. Observation without intervention is an option for inactive uncomplicated cysts.

Part of the book: Echinococcosis