The patient (pictured) started to eat fried snails after being introduced the dish by his boss. Photo / Guandong Radio and TV Station
The patient (pictured) started to eat fried snails after being introduced the dish by his boss. Photo / Guandong Radio and TV Station
Doctors have been left stunned after they discovered a 12cm tapeworm had been eating away at a man's brain for 15 years.
The 36-year-old Chinese man had developed a parasitic infection after he became addicted to eating snails, according to doctors in Guangzhou in Guangdong Province.
The patient, whose lastname is Wang, said he fell in love with fried snails in 2004, but one year later started to vomit frequently.
In 2007 he began to feel numb on his left arm and leg, and started to experience weakness in his muscles.
His medical issues were soon so severe that he had to quit his job to look after his health.
For the next 10 years, Wang struggled with his health and continued to seek answers from numerous doctors around the country hoping to find a reason for his frail condition.
Last year, doctors found out that he had a tapeworm in the brain, a report said, but they advised Wang to undergo non-surgical treatment out of concern that an operation would be too risky due to the position of the parasite.
But in September Wang had another serious seizure so decided to get it removed.
Doctors spent two hours removing the tapeworm, which was still alive in his head.
Surgeons in Guangzhou, China, has removed the live tapeworm (pictured) from the patient. Photo / Guandong Radio and TV Station
Docs discovered the parasite was still alive after 15 years. Photo / Guandong Radio and TV Station
The tapeworm was 12cm in length.
The parasite turned out to be a Sparganum mansoni, which are often found in the intestines of cats and dogs, but rarely in humans.
Dr Gu Youming, a deputy director at Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital, which treated Wang, told a reporter: "Because the worm was alive all the time, it would have crawled inside his brain and eaten his brain.
"This could have left [ Wang] paralysed, or even endangered his life."
The patient (pictured) started to eat fried snails after being introduced the dish by his boss. Photo / Guandong Radio and TV Station
Dr Gu added: "[We] also had to make sure that we would remove the tapeworm whole. If any part [of the tapeworm] was left in the brain, it would grow back."
He says Wang likely didn't cook his snails properly, allowing tapeworms to grow.
