Surgeons at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba have successfully completed a rare operation to remove a parasitic cyst from the brain of a six-year-old boy that had caused paralysis to the left side of the child's body.
Prior to the operation, the mother of six-year-old Qusay al-Hamidi, a member of the Negev Bedouin community, noticed that her son was dragging his left leg and suffering headaches, particularly in the morning. The worried parents took Qusay to the pediatric emergency center at Soroka, where doctors noted signs of weakness on the left side of the boy's body, which was indicative of growing pressure inside his skull.
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Doctors conducted an emergency CT scan, which showed a large cyst developing in his brain. The cyst, which was causing significant pressure on Qusay's brain, was caused by the Echinococcus parasite.
The diagnosis was confirmed with an MRI scan, and Qusay was transferred to surgery. During the operation, the parasitic cyst was removed in its entirety.
Dr. Israel Melamed, head of the Neurosurgery Department at Soroka, said, that the operation required "A very high level of skill because if the cyst was punctured and its content spilled, it could cause a severe allergic reaction and spread the parasite's eggs throughout the brain and around it.
"The operation required close cooperation among the team and readiness for any possible scenario during the process of removing the cyst," Melamed said.
Melamed explained that the parasite eggs that caused Qusay's cyst was found in the excrement of dogs, foxes, and wolves. Goats, cattle, and sometimes humans wind up consuming these eggs at some point along the food chain. When the eggs hatch, he said the parasite usually reaches the liver, but is sometimes carried elsewhere in the body by the bloodstream and can reach the brain
"This operation took me back to my distant past, as a young neurosurgeon in Uzbekistan, where I carried out frequent operations to remove Echinococcus. It was common there," he said.
Deputy head of neurosurgery at Soroka Dr. Yuval Sufaro, who was also part of the team that saved Qusay, said that the child's cyst had been unusually large, measuring seven cm. (2.75 inches).
Sufaro said that following the operation, Qusay was hospitalized in the medical center's pediatric intensive care unit, where his condition improved dramatically. When he was discharged, he was feeling well and walking normally, Sufaro added.
Qusay's mother, Amani, said, "I have no words with which to thank the staff. From the moment we arrived at the emergency ward, there was a precise diagnosis and my son was rushed into surgery. They simply saved his life."
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