Cyst removal

Shelley recently posted this snip about the removal of a parasitic cyst from a young girl’s brain.  She even included a video (which I’m not embedding due to my recent climax-like explosion of video posts) plus a bit of information on the nature of the cyst, the danger of removing, and just what happens to the brain around the cyst after it is removed.

The cyst is a hydatid cyst, which is the result of a parasitic infection by tapeworm larvae(Echinococcus). Generally speaking, it does not occur in the USA, but rather occurs in Mediterranean countries, the Middle East, the southern part of South America, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and southern parts of Africa. The cysts, which are initiated by one larvae, eventually come to house thousands of tapeworm larvae. So it is very important not to rupture the cyst during its removal, else the host could easily die.

I’m normally squeemish in regards to video of medical procedures, but this is just such an interesting procedure.  ScienceBlogs rock.

Now I’m hungry.  Be back after I fix a bite of early lunch.

[tags]Cyst, Parasite, Brain surgery, Hydatid cyst, Shelley, Retrospectacle, ScienceBlogs[/tags]