Removal of intravitreous cysticerci from the surface of the optic nervehead. A pars plana approach.

Two larvae of Taenia solium (eg, Cysticercus cellulosae) were identified in the posterior vitreous attached to the optic nervehead of a 13-year-old Guatemalan girl. Preoperative evaluation showed the larvae to be viable. The vitreous showed a mild cellular reaction. The larvae were dissected off the optic nervehead and removed via a pars plana approach, without incident. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of cysticerci attached to the optic nervehead that were removed successfully by the pars plana approach. The patient was treated with a very short preoperative and postoperative course of corticosteroids. No inflammatory flare-ups or recurrence of the cysticercosis were found during the one-year follow-up period.

Duke Scholars

Author Allan Howard Friedman Neurosurgery