[Radiological appearances of hydatid cysts of the kidney. 10 confirmed cases (author's transl)].

Ten cases of hydatid cyst of the kidney are reported. The problem was invariably unilateral and isolated, involving the left kidney in 8 cases and the right kidney in 2 cases. IVP reveals a syndrome of a renal mass, sometimes enormous. Peri-cystic calcifications were visible in 7 cases, very localised in 5 cases and diffuse in 2. In 3 cases the kidney was non-functioning. No communication between the cyst and the excretory pathway could be seen at IVP in the two cases where it existed anatomically. Cystic parietography, partial or total, was visible in 4 cases. The mass was always avascular, without spur sign. The picture is very similar to that of a necrosed carcinoma of the kidney. Arteriography was not felt to be any more helpful than IVP in demonstrating the wall of the cyst. By contrast, changes in the trunk of the renal artery were common. The authors discuss the means avaliable for the radiological exploration of hydatic cysts of the kidney, in relation to the technical possibilities possessed in countries where the problem is endemic.