Innovative use of the octopus stabilizer in the excision of a cardiac hydatid cyst

Hydatid disease is caused through Echinococcus granulosus infection. Hydatid disease remains endemic in developing countries. The majority of cases involve the lungs or liver. We report the case of a patient diagnosed with concurrent mediastinal and cardiac cysts. In this patient, the Octopus IV cardiac stabilizer was used to rotate the heart after the excision of the mediastinal cyst, enabling the excision of a cyst adherent to left ventricle through a single median sternotomy incision. To date, there have been no reports of the application of the Octopus IV cardiac stabilizer in such a way.