WARNING: Below, you will see a disturbing set of images meant for DOCTORS' EYES ONLY!
In this case, the patient was a 5-year-old boy treated by U.S. Air Force surgeons in a rural area of the Republic of Honduras. "The respiratory pore of a late-stage larva of the human botfly (Dermatobia hominis) was located in the anterior orbit," says the article abstract. "The larva was gently removed under general anesthesia through a small incision in the conjunctiva." The patient was apparently none the worse for wear.
>> SEE GRAPHIC PICTURE ON FLICKR HERE! <<
According to entomologists, the human botfly lays its eggs on the bodies of other insects (such as mosquitoes), which then transfer the eggs to animal or human hosts by direct contact. When a botfly egg hatches, the larva burrows into the host's skin head-first and begins feeding.
This nasty creature is found mainly in Central and South America, but there are other species of flies known to responsible for cases of myiasis in North America, mainly blowflies. According to an epidemiological study conducted in 2000, most instances of myiasis acquired in the United States are the result of blowflies laying their eggs in pre-existing wounds.
True Tests to see if you are an eye doctor:
Do you understand everything in this paragraph taken from the journal article mentioned above? It was the simplest, most straight forward one I could find:
"A 5-year-old boy with inferior orbital swelling and an erythemantous mass arising from the inferior cul-du-sac of his right eye was seen by an Air Force Mobile Opthalmic Surgical Team working in a rural area of the Republic of Honduras. The respiratory pore of a late-stage larva of the human botfly (Dermatobia Hominis) was located in the interior orbit. The larva was gently removed under general anesthesia through a small incision in the conjunctiva..."
The ultimate test is if you can gain access to this ophthalmology website to download the original article. If you can, you are justified in having just read this article. (Anterior Orbital Myiasis Caused by Human Botfly (Dermatobia hominis)Goodman et al. Arch Ophthalmol.2000; 118: 1002-1003.)
Real People's Eyes:
Eyes that are really, really fascinating (Wikipedia). Click to enlarge some of these to JUMBO size:
Eye issues that ophthalmologists hope to never see:
Have you ever tried this?
Well DON'T DO IT!!! The iris dissolves when it comes in direct contact with the tongue. It has something to do with the concentration of saliva.
p.s. I thought I saw an eye doctor surfing near one of the Alaskan islands, but it was just an optical Aleutian.
----------------
Listening to: Colbie Caillat - Circles
I did NOT read this post. I scanned through the pictures and then gagged and posted this comment. shudder.
ReplyDeleteCan you really look at those pictures without being grossed out? I can't. I didn't read the post either. yuck.
ReplyDeleteBryan, thanks for the shout out. I loved the pictures and some of my colleagues at work are now requesting copies!
ReplyDeleteI did have access to that article about the botfly--in fact, I get the journal delivered direct to my house! For free!! The only problem is that Heather promptly throws it in the trash as soon as it arrives. Maybe she will defend her actions on this post.
One of my favorite pictures is the second one of the African-American woman whose eyes are bulging out. She has globe luxation, and I treated a woman with the exact same condition who was in the ICU. I kept getting stat paged by hysterical nurses and doctors saying that her eyes popped out when they went to check her pupils. I finally had to make a sign that said "please do not open her eyelids or her eyes will pop out." I just told them to take their finger and push it back in. It was really funny.
Thanks again for the post.
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great post. I am going to have to show my friends in class. The one where the saliva dissolved the iris was incredible. I tell you, I have seen some crazy eye problems but never any with larva. I am quite impressed. Thanks for the great post! I'll have to send you any crazy pictures I come across. :)