Live worms removed from the liver of UAE teacher

Fujairah - Dr Raj Kumar, a surgeon and specialist with the Thumbay Hospital in Fujairah, said she had 'inhaled the worms' from her pet dog.

A 49-year-old teacher in Fujairah had been suffering from stomach pains for quite some time, until a doctor said they had to remove a cyst in her liver - and it was infested with live worms.
Dr Raj Kumar, a surgeon and specialist with the Thumbay Hospital in Fujairah, said she had 'inhaled the worms' from her pet dog.
"The larvae from a cyst attached to the liver continues to grow as the worms grow," he said, before adding that a cyst can be fatal if it ruptures and releases the larvae into the blood stream.
Before the cyst was taken out, Christy Bai Gnanamai Parimala, a music teacher, had been in severe pain, with swelling, breathlessness and nausea. She also lost her appetite.
Parimala said the cyst was spotted more than two years ago as part of a routine CT scan. "I no longer have any pain or feel the poking sensation in my tummy as was the case before the surgery."
Dr Kumar and his team removed the 8cm cyst in a three-hour keyhole surgery. It was minimally invasive operation that required minor punctures in her abdomen. Along with the cyst, some infected parts of her liver also had to be extracted.
"The keyhole surgery accelerates healing and helps the patient go back to normal life in a week," the surgeon said.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com 

• Fujairah