COIMBATORE: A 40-year old Iraq national has successfully undergone a surgery for a rare Hydatid Disease of Spine (parasitic infection from dog tape worm) in a city hospital.

Amer Ibrahim Muthar was suffering from this disease for the last 10 years and underwent multiple surgeries at Iraq, but the disease was located in the dorsal spine and closer to heart and major blood vessels, leading to erosion of spine bone and engulfing spinal cord, Rex Ortho Hospital Chief Dr. C. Rex told reporters here on Friday.

“As a result he developed weakness in both lower limbs with inability to walk in the last six months and referred to the hospital, as lot of hospitals deferred the surgery due to high risk of surgical complications and failures. The fear was sudden collapse of the patient on rupture of the worm cyst can throw toxins into the body and will turn really life threatening,” he said.

With a lot of courage and patient’s willingness a meticulously planned marathon surgery was done for six hours successfully clearing the spinal cord, Dr. Rex said.

“This is the fourth reported case in the world with gross spine involvement,” he said, adding that the patient is recuperating well and is all praise for India for giving good medical care.