A woman had symptoms of acidity and heartburn. Doctors gave her general anesthesia and started to look for the cause by doing an endoscopy. A long parasite was removed from her esophagus. Ascaris lumbricoides is a roundworm that can grow up to 35 cm long. People get it by swallowing tiny eggs from dirty soil or food. The eggs hatch in the intestine. Young worms then travel through the blood to the lungs. From the lungs the worms are coughed up into the throat. They are then swallowed again and go down into the stomach. They finally settle and grow into adults in the small intestine. Adult worms normally stay in the intestine. Sometimes they move upward into the stomach or esophagus. This can cause burning pain and the need for removal.