Pain and swelling: Live worm pulled out of 58-year-old woman's eye

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A live worm was removed from the eye of a 58-year-old woman who came to the hospital after experiencing pain and swelling for days. An eleven cm long worm was taken out through endoscopy at KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. The worm was found in the muscles that help move the eyes.

After several days of pain and swelling in the patient's right eye, the patient went to the ENT department and got it examined. An ultrasound scan was performed after noticing pus build-up around the eye. With this, the presence of a live worm was found inside the eye. The worm was extracted after a complicated two-hour surgery.

Dirofilaria, a type of worm found in domestic animals, was found in the patient's eye. They reach the human body through mosquitoes. These worms, which usually die once inside the body, grow under the skin around the eyes rarely.

Meanwhile, a similar incident was reported at Paravur Nedungolam BR Hospital last year. A 15 cm long worm was removed from the eye of a woman from Chathannoor, who came to the hospital due to swelling in her eyelid.