New Delhi, January 12: In a rare occurrence, a tapeworm was extracted from under the retina of a 60-year old woman complaining of blurred vision at KEM hospital recently. The last such case was reported in 1991 in Thailand, claimed the doctors who operated on the patient.
Tapeworm infection, or cysticerocosis, occurs when the parasite forms a cyst inside a part of the body. While it mostly involves lungs, muscles, brain or skin, eyes are very rarely affected. The infection is passed on through consumption of uncooked vegetables, pork or other non-vegetarian food, and even water contaminated with faeces.
“While normally the outer layer of the eye or the muscle of the eye is affected, in this case the cyst formed under the retina in the sub-retinal space. This is the most sensitive part of the eye,” said Dr Arjun Ahuja, head of ophthalmology department, KEM hospital.
Chinnubai Shelke, 60, a farmer from Nanded district, was referred to KEM a few weeks ago after she started complaining of blurred vision since the last four months.
“There was a moving worm in her retina and fluid had accumulated in the area. Her vision was so impaired that she could only sense hand movements close to the eye,” said Dr Ahuja.
A vitrectomy surgery that removed the cyst, along with laser treatment to restore the retina, was performed by Dr Ahuja, who was assisted by Dr Anil Dudhabhate, about 10 days ago. The surgery was challenging not only because it is a rare condition, but also because the worm had to be removed from the eye alive. “If the worm had died, the reaction would have been drastic as a dead worm releases toxins,” said Dr Ahuja.
The results of the surgery are encouraging. “Nearly 25% of her vision has improved. She can now see objects four feet away. The results are much better than the ones documented in the past,” said Dr Dudhabhate.
Dr Ahuja said that Shelke also needs to undergo cataract surgery to improve her vision.
“This is rare. Only 10-30% of cysticerocosis cases are related to the eye. Since I specialise in the inner eye, I have operated on a few patients in the last 23 years,” said Dr S Natrajan from Aditya Jyot Eye hospital.
–Agencies