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LequteMan
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A California man is recuperating after having a live tapeworm pulled out of his brain during an emergency surgery.
Sporting what he called the worst headache of his life, Luis Ortiz, had been admitted to a hospital in Napa, BBC reports.
After a brain scan was done, neurosurgeon Soren Singel discovered the larvae of a tapeworm and told Mr Ortiz he had about 30 minutes to live.
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.'"
Mr Ortiz is recovering after the surgery in August and is hoping to return to Sacramento State University, where he was scheduled to begin his final year before the surgery.
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, American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Once inside the body, those eggs hatch and the worms can make their way to the brain. The CDC says approximately 1,000 people per year are hospitalised for neurocysticercosis and removal of the larvae.
Sporting what he called the worst headache of his life, Luis Ortiz, had been admitted to a hospital in Napa, BBC reports.
After a brain scan was done, neurosurgeon Soren Singel discovered the larvae of a tapeworm and told Mr Ortiz he had about 30 minutes to live.
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.'"
Mr Ortiz is recovering after the surgery in August and is hoping to return to Sacramento State University, where he was scheduled to begin his final year before the surgery.
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, American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
Once inside the body, those eggs hatch and the worms can make their way to the brain. The CDC says approximately 1,000 people per year are hospitalised for neurocysticercosis and removal of the larvae.
