Watch doctors remove three-centimetre long living worm from boy's eye

The moment doctors pulled the worm out of the boy's eye Credit: RTV

Doctors in Peru have successfully extracted a three-centimetre long worm that was burrowed inside a boy's eyelid.

The creature had been living inside the unnamed 17-year-old's left eyelid for around a month.

During the delicate operation, doctors at the National Children's hospital in Lima used bunches of basil to lure the creature out of the eye.

Warning: Not for the squeamish - the moment doctors remove the worm:

Ophthalmologists said that the location of the worm was causing dangerous swelling in a delicate area close to the boy's sinuses, which could cause infection to spread to his brain if left untreated.

The worm's condition is unknown Credit: RTV

Once the head of the hungry worm poked out in search of the basil, doctors were able to use tweezers to pull it out in its entirety.

Due to the timely removal, the worm, which was three centimetres (one inch) long, did not cause any long-term damage, according to the Peruvian Correo Newspaper.