Hydatid cyst involving the aortic arch

We report a very rare case of primary mediastinal hydatid cyst which invaded the ascending aorta and the aortic arch which initially presented as a cranial mass. Aortic wall is a very unusual site for the hydatid cysts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of hydatid cyst located within the aortic arch lumen. Patient underwent ascending aortic and hemiarch replacement under hypothermic circulatory arrest and removal of the cyst. Patient had an uneventful recovery and has been on follow-up. Although the literature data are very limited, we believe that the aortic procedure of choice should be graft interpositon rather than patch repair.