Spider burrowed through tourist's stomach and up into his chest

Dylan Thomas found the spider had burrowed its way through a scar

Dylan Thomas after spider had been removed from his torso (Dylan Thomas/ Facebook)

A young Australian man picked up an unwanted souvenir in Bali last weekend when he found that a tropical spider had burrowed under his skin and travelled up his chest.

Dylan Thomas, 21, was on holiday with friends when he woke up one morning to find a red, scar-like trail on his stomach.

He was initially given antihistamine cream to treat what doctors in Bali thought was an insect bite. But the red trail spread upwards and by Monday it had started blistering so he was sent to see a dermatologist, who discovered the small tropical spider and removed it.

The doctors said the spider had burrowed through a small scar left by a previous operation to remove his appendix.

“It takes a lot to deter me, but I do feel violated. It was a very bizarre experience just to know something like that was in my body for a couple of days” he said.

The staff at Bali International Medical Centre have taken the spider away for testing and will let Thomas know what kind of spider it is next week.