A 26-year-old Californian man is recovering after surgeons removed a live parasite from his brain during an emergency operation. Luis Ortiz was admitted to a hospital in NAPA after claiming to have experienced the worst headache of his life.
Neurosurgeon, Soren Singel discovered the larva of a tapeworm during a brain scan and. The tapeworm grew inside a cyst that cut off circulation and water flow to the rest of his brain.
“I stood up and then I threw up,” said Mr Ortiz. “The doctor pulled it out and he said it was still wiggling, and I’m like ‘Ugh, that doesn’t sound too good.'”
The 26-year-old student was informed that he only had about 30 minutes to live according to doctor’s assessment and required immediate surgery to remove the parasite. Luis went into coma and the doctors had to perform an emergency surgery. The doctors used a tool with a camera to perform emergency brain surgery and discovered the larvae of a parasitic tapeworm that was born in a cyst blocking off circulation inside Luis’ brain.
“I was shocked. I just couldn’t believe something like that would happen to me. I didn’t know there was a parasite in my head trying to ruin my life,” Ortiz said.
The neurosurgeon said that Ortiz was very lucky to have been brought to the hospital on time. Dr. Soren Singel said that “it was a close call”. Singel also said that the presence of parasitic worms in human bodies is not uncommon, and is usually caused by eating infected pork, beef or fish.
CBS Sacramento reports that there are six types of tapeworms that are well known to infect humans, usually identified by the animal they come from. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people can get an intestinal parasite from eating undercooked meat. A brain infection can result from eating food prepared by someone who is infected and spreads the larvae through poor sanitation and hygiene. Once ingested, the larvae can travel to the brain. The US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports larval cysts in the brain – neurocysticercosis – develop after a person swallows microscopic eggs passed in the faeces of a person who has an intestinal pork tapeworm.
The surgery and its after effects have influenced Ortiz’s life to a great extent. Oritz was forced to drop out of school, move back home and find a temporary place for his dog. It’s impossible for him to drive or work. “My memory is like a work in progress,” he said. “It gets better from therapy,” but he has to remind himself to do his memory exercises and other daily tasks. He is recovering since his surgery in August and is hoping to return to Sacramento State University, where he had planned to begin his final year prior to the surgery.
“It’s probably more gratifying for me to be living, because if I would have waited a little bit longer, then I probably wouldn’t be here right now,” he told CBS San Francisco.
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