Man had splitting headaches for years with no answer—until an MRI uncovered the cause and stunned even doctors
It is advised to always get problematic or concerning symptoms checked out. However, when a man did that, his doctor was surprised to find the cause behind his debilitating headaches. The man from Austin, Texas, Gerardo Moctezuma, had been experiencing splitting headaches for years. But at one point, it progressed to drowsiness that kept getting worse over the months. Finally, a fainting incident at a soccer game pushed the man to get himself checked out. The doctors were surprised by what they saw on the MRI scan, per The Washington Post.
The 40-year-old man had severe headaches that had made him vomit previously. Eventually, his neurosurgeon, Jordan Amadio, was shocked to find out that there was a tapeworm living inside the man's brain. It had grown up to an inch and a half in size and had to be removed from the patient's brain through an emergency surgery back in May 2019. The clear and white tapeworm came from a larva and could have been there in Moctezuma's brain undetected for over 10 years. He might have been infected when he moved to Mexico from the United States 14 years before his surgery. The man believed that he must have contracted the parasite because of eating undercooked pork in Mexico.
"It’s certainly possible that he was infected while living in Mexico and the tapeworm was incubating in his system for many years," Amadio pointed out. Moctezuma's symptoms had become severe because of neurocysticercosis, caused by the worm's presence in the man's brain. The cyst caused an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid that increased pressure on the skull. The pain and the blockage could have been life-threatening. "It’s a remarkable case where a patient came in and if he had not been treated urgently, he would have died from tremendous pressure in the brain." The man's diagnosis and recovery were considered extraordinary and he could go back to his normal life after a few months.
The doctors were not sure about how the man ended up with a tapeworm so close to his brain stem, which the doctor compared to "very high-priced real estate." The tapeworm was removed from the patient's brain through a three-hour complex surgery at Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas. The neurosurgeon had to work carefully near an area of essential nerves and blood vessels after removing the back of the man's skull. Amadio was thankful that the parasite that could have been spread in several small larvae was contained in a single, giant cyst. Parasites, like the one in Moctezuma's brain, are more likely to show up in places like Austin and California, where more people migrate from Mexico and Latin America, per the doctor.
"This was an unusual case because it required an emergency surgery. Thankfully, once the lesion was removed, the patient had a spectacular outcome and is happy and living with his family and back to work," Amadio expressed. He was glad to know the man eight months after his surgery. A tapeworm had been diagnosed in Moctezuma's sister's brain years before he was diagnosed with one, per KXAN. The Mayo Clinic recommended that people visit a doctor and get tests done if they suspect a tapeworm infection. Many people with an infection might get better on their own, while some could need oral medication. Surgery is also needed in some cases.