Purpose: To determine postoperative morbidity (POM) in patients undergoing surgery for uncomplicated hepatic echinococcosis (HE) and determine associations with the variable POM looking for possible risk factors for POM. Methods: Nested case-control study. We included patients undergoing surgery for uncomplicated HE in two hospitals in Temuco between 2000 and 2012. The main outcome variable was development of POM. Other variables of interest were hospital stay, mortality and recurrence. Surgical techniques used were pericystectomy and liver resection. Descriptive statistics and analytical statistics were applied using T-test, ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test to compare continuous variables; Chi2 and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables, and logistic regression models were used, estimating OR. Results: 126 patients, median age 41 years, 61% female. The incidence of POM was 10.3%, with 76.9% Clavien grade I or II. The etiology was 6.5% and 4.1% of medical and surgical complications, respectively. There was no mortality and with a median follow-up of 83 months, recurrence incidence was 0.8%. Association was found between cases and controls and the variables age, alkaline phosphatase, cyst location and hospital stay. Applying regression models age (p = 0.002 and OR 1.07) and cyst location (p = 0.003 and OR 3.94) were found to be risk factors. Conclusions: Observed POM is lower and of less severity than those previously published. Risk factors were determined. © 2014 Surgical Associates Ltd.