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Case Reports
. 2021 Feb 25;51(1):62-65.
doi: 10.4274/tjo.galenos.2020.00225.

Severe Orbital Myiasis Caused by Chrysomya bezziana: A Case Report

Yu Siang Ng  1 , Yuen Keat Gan  1 , Leni Tupang  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Severe Orbital Myiasis Caused by Chrysomya bezziana: A Case Report

Yu Siang Ng et al. Turk J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

An 88-year-old woman was brought to the hospital immediately after her neighbours noticed that she was bleeding from her right eye. On examination, her right eye was phthisic with maggot infestation of her right orbit. Over a hundred live maggots were extracted using forceps. Computed tomography scan revealed the infestation was confined to the right orbit. The patient underwent exenteration of the right orbit under general anaesthesia. The species was identified by an entomologist as Chrysomya bezziana, which has aggressive larvae that eat living tissue. This case report demonstrates that orbital myiasis caused by C. bezziana poses a very real risk of intracranial invasion as they feed on living tissues. Adjacent tissue destruction can be very rapid and definitive treatment involves urgent removal of its larvae via surgical debridement. To our knowledge, we are reporting the first case of orbital myiasis from a patient in Malaysia. Therefore, our case report may be helpful in the management of similar case of orbital myiasis.

Keywords: Chrysomya bezziana; exenteration; maggots; orbital myiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An 88-year-old woman from the interior division of Sabah, Malaysia, presenting with massive maggot infestation of the right orbit
Figure 2
Figure 2
Computed tomography image showing bony erosion of the greater wing of sphenoid of the right orbit caused by Chrysomya bezziana larvae
Figure 3
Figure 3
Computed tomography image showing bony erosion of the lamina papyracea of the right orbit caused by Chrysomya bezziana larvae
Figure 4
Figure 4
Third instar of Chrysomya bezziana larva removed from the patient’s right orbit wound
Figure 5
Figure 5
Anterior spiracle (5 fingers) and body spine on the thoracic segments of a Chrysomya bezziana larva (x40 magnification)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cephaloskeleton of a Chrysomya bezziana larva (x40 magnification)
Figure 7
Figure 7
Peritreme of the posterior spiracle of a Chrysomya bezziana larva (x40 magnification)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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