Iraqi man undergoes successful hydatid surgery in Coimbatore

A 40-year-old Iraqi national suffering from a rare hydatid disease of the spine (parasitic infection from dog tapeworm) underwent a successful operation at a private hospital in Coimbatore.

He was suffering from this disease for the past 10 years and underwent several surgeries in various countries to no avail.

The disease was located between the dorsal spine and the heart. It eroded in the spine bone and was engulfed the spinal cord and hence a weakness developed in the lower limbs thereby making him unable to walk for six months.

"I am happy that I was successfully treated by Indian doctors and I had gone to various hospitals across the world for the past 10 years but they failed to do anything. The disease spread through my cattle and dogs in my farm," said the patient, Amer Ibrahim Muthar.

The doctor, who did the six-hour long surgery, said that the patient was given medicines at first to shrink the swelling before the definitive surgery.

"There was fear of the sudden collapse of the patient if worm cyst had ruptured since it would have thrown toxins into the body which would again have reached the spine," he added.