Man, 30, blinded by grapefruit-sized tumour that stretched down to his chest after parasite began breeding in eyeball
A MAN whose eyeball was invaded by a parasite was left unable to see as he developed a tumour so large it hung down to his chest.
What started as swelling in his left eyelid slowly progressed to “a large hanging mass extending from the eyelid and reaching the chest region”.
The unnamed patient in his 30s saw the mass swell to the size of a grapefruit over the period of five years, a case report by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Bhubaneswar, India, stated.
The lump grew so large that it gradually began to pull at the skin around his eye, stretching it to the point that he was no longer able to see out of his left eye.
By the time he sought help, the mass was causing “severe functional impairment and cosmetic deformity”, medics wrote in their report published to the British Medical Journal.
Upon examination, they discovered that the circular hanging mass had a diameter of 15 by 14 centimetres (cm) – about the size of grapefruit – and was attached to his eye socket by skin and tissue that had stretched to 10 cm in length.
Doctors discovered that the lump had been caused by a parasite that causes growths in the nose and structures of the eye.
They believe the tumour was caused by the patient’s body reacting to the parasite, as the tissue surrounding his eye became inflamed.
He was diagnosed with rhinosporidiosis – caused by the water parasite Rhinosporidium seeberi – and angiofibroma, a non-cancerous tumour made up of blood vessels and fibrous tissue.
The report authors said it’s rare for someone to have the parasitic infection and tumour at the same time.
Medics weren’t sure how the man picked up the parasite or exactly how long it was living in his body.
But studies have suggested a possible link to swimming or bathing in freshwater ponds, lakes, or rivers.
Rhinosporidiosis is particularly common in the tropical climates of India and Sri Lanka.
Surgeons at the All India Institute operated on the patient to to remove the mass from his eye.
The cauterised the “huge” deformed blood vessels that were feeding the lump to avoid blood loss and reconstructed the stretched out skin.
The man was able to recover well from his surgery and even regained sight in his left eye.
“Three months after surgical debulking, the patient had a good recovery of visual and anatomic function,” report authors wrote.
“A definitive link between angiofibroma and rhinosporidiosis has not been established, but our case indicates a possible connection,” they went on.
“It is important to acknowledge the rare potential overlap of these conditions, especially when the tumour has been present for an extended period.”
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