Young Chinese girl had leech lodged inside nose for 3 months

Chinese doctors performed the extraction of a three-inch leech that was housed inside the patient's nose. Detail: the parasite stayed there for about three months!

There are over 600 species of leeches. These invertebrate parasites and hermaphrodites have already been used in ancient cultures as a medical aid, especially in cases involving bleedings. In the case of young Pan, the bleeding was unintentional: he sought out Dongguan Chang'an Hospital in Guangdong Province, China, after ten days with a bleeding nose - something bizarre since ten days with a bleeding nose means that something must be wrong.

The consultation was with the otolaryngologist Liu Yuxing, who suspected the parasite in its first diagnoses. "Although I have never encountered a lodged airway leech in my many years as a doctor, I immediately suspected it was based on similar reports seen in medical journals, " said Dr. Liu. After an endoscopy, the three-centimeter parasite was found trapped in the young man's nostrils.

When analyzing the situation, the doctor informed that the removal would not be something so simple, since the leech could break if a very forced removal was the first option. With half of the animal arrested, the procedure would be even more complicated. After some discussion, the team decided to anesthetize the parasite, allowing for the least invasive and safest possible withdrawal.

When asked about possible places where he would have contact with parasites, Pan claims that a river outside his village would be the only place he could have had contact with leeches. Interestingly, he had entered this river three months ago. The medical suspicion was that small eggs lodged in the airways when the youngster went swimming. Some time later, these eggs hatched and the leech settled in its new home.

Due to the anesthetic properties of the leech's saliva, Pan never experienced pain, even with the animal feeding on its blood. The only symptom turned out to be nosebleeds. The removal went well, the three-inch parasite lost its home, and Pan will think twice about any river bath.

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