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A 48-year-old man in India has requested that his identity remain anonymous in this medical case. When you read about the details, you’ll completely understand why.
About two months ago, this man had been experiencing discomfort and pain in his stomach – which he claimed to be bearable – and also noticed that he was feeling more lethargic than usual. It was only after he’d suffered from this condition for quite some time that he decided to see the doctor.
At the doctor’s, the man underwent a blood test, that indicated he had an unusually low concentration of hemoglobin in his blood (The man tested positive for mild anemia.), and also a colonoscopy procedure. This was the test that ultimately showed doctor Dr. Cyriac Phillips what was ailing the man.
During the colonoscopy, Dr. Phillips saw a part of a worm residing in the man’s stomach.
"It was an undulating, moving piece of the worm, " Dr. Phillips recalled in his written report for the New England Journal of Medicine. "This worm segment was confirmation that there was a tapeworm infestation in this patient."
Following the colonoscopy, the doctors decided to perform an endoscopy. This procedure would require a camera to be inserted into the man’s stomach to more loosely investigate his intestines.
Although they didn’t need further confirmation, the endoscopy revealed that the parasite residing inside this man was much longer than just that segment first found in the colonoscopy.
The doctors knew, they absolutely had to remove the parasite before it caused more harm to the man’s health.
The patient was immediately sedated. A team of physicians from the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences Hospital in New Delhi, India, then made preparations to remove the worm through the man’s mouth.
The medical team then used a gastroscope to venture into the man’s intestines, via his mouth, and with a pair of forceps, were able to locate the tip of the tapeworm where it resided.
Once located, Dr. Phillips slowly but surely began to extract the tapeworm.
"We had absolutely no idea regarding the length of this worm," Dr. Phillips said. "It kept on coming.”
There was nothing else the doctors could do but continue pulling and hope that the worm ended soon. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.
"We pulled at it softly and steadily,” Dr. Phillips continued, “and ultimately the job was done after maybe around 1 hour and 15 minutes. I have never seen a tapeworm this long before this particular case."
When the entire tapeworm had finally, completely been removed, doctors measured its length. It was 6.1 feet long and was finally identified as a Taenia solium, a tapeworm that’s contracted after consuming undercooked pork.
Most adult tapeworms of this type are anywhere between 6.5 feet to 23 feet, but the longest known tapeworm on record is a whopping 26 feet long.
Thankfully, once this long worm had been removed from the poor man’s stomach, doctors weren’t able to find other worms or parasites to remove. They prescribed the man praziquantel, a medicine that’s specifically used to kill off any parasite or worm infections, as well as any eggs or larvae that continue to reside in the body.
This way, doctors can be sure that the tapeworm problem won’t return at full strength, and hopefully never again in the future.
Although none of the man’s family members reported experiencing the same symptoms as the man, doctors also advised his family to take the deworming medicine for the next six months, as a precautionary method to avoid having future health problems.
Dr. Phillips also issued the man and his family – as well as everyone else – a warning about eating infected meat. It’s best to avoid food places that have a high risk of being contaminated, as well as not cooking meat for long enough. It’s always advised “to cook pork well at home before consumption.”
Pork tapeworms aren’t just contracted by eating undercooked pork. Any surface that has been contaminated by tapeworm eggs – this can range from food to drinking water or even just wiping your hand on a surface that has contaminated feces – can cause your body to become infected.
You can see the full tapeworm below. And if you dare, you can check out the doctors' report for a video of the extraction.
