Tunisian Clinicians Document Rare Rib Hydatid Disease Mimicking Chest Wall

A team of Tunisian clinicians and visceral surgeons has reported a rare case of primary costal cystic echinococcosis—hydatid disease—in a 60-year-old female agricultural worker. The patient developed a painless, enlarging mass over the lateral aspect of her right eighth rib along the mid-axillary line over two months. Although hydatid cysts most often involve the liver and lungs, skeletal presentations occur in roughly 0.5% to 2.5% of cases, with rib involvement described as exceptional even in Tunisia. Surgery was pursued after the mass measured about 5 cm, with normal exams apart from mild hypereosinophilia.