Abstract

CASE REPORT:
A 43-year-old lady who presented with a soft tissue mass in the anterior aspect of the left upper arm which was enlarging over the last three years .
The mass was painless and the patient was a febrile, without weight loss and denied any history of trauma. Physical examination revealed a non-tender, soft , fluctuant , nonpulsatile mass of about 4 , 3 , 3 cm in dimensions in the biceps brachii muscle and it was mobile with contraction of the muscle . No erythema, ecchymosis, warmth or lymphadenopathy was determined.
Ultrasound of the local area revealed a unilocular, echo free mass. Fine needle aspiration from the cyst was performed, which yielded crystal clear fluid and microscopic examination of fluid was inconclusive. Based on these findings, a working diagnosis of hydatid cyst arising from muscle was made . Screening for other hydatids in the abdomen by doing ultrasound or in the chest by doing chest x-ray were both negative.
After preoperative preparation the mass was explored which revealed the presence of whitish cystic mass inside the biceps brachii muscle typical of hydatid cyst (Figures 1, 2, 3) .