When an elderly Indian patient came to Dr. V. Seetharaman with persistent pain in his eye, what the surgeon found was reminiscent of a far-fetched alien movie plot: a live, five inch (13cm) worm.

On examining the 75-year-old at Mumbai's Fortis Hospital this week, the eye expert was shocked by the highly unusual sight of the writhing parasite and had to operate speedily to remove it before serious damage was caused.

"It was wriggling there under the conjunctiva," Seetharaman said, referring to the thin membrane lining the eye. "It was the first time in my career of 30 years that I had seen such a case."

Retired patient P.K. Krishnamurthy had been suffering for more than two weeks with redness and irritation before the doctor pin-pointed the threadlike creature under a microscope Wednesday.

"He was also confused and very much disturbed," said Seetharaman.

The specialist removed the worm by making a small opening in the conjunctiva -- a 15-minute operation that was observed by the patient's horrified wife, Saraswati.