Hyderabad Doctors Remove Pen Cap from Man’s Lung After 21 Years, Saving Him from Severe Damage
Hyderabad Doctors Remove Pen Cap from Man’s Lung After 21 Years, Saving Him from Severe Damage
Hyderabad: In a rare medical case, doctors at KIMS Hospital, Hyderabad, successfully removed a pen cap from the lung of a 26-year-old man, who had unknowingly lived with the foreign object for 21 years.
The patient, a resident of Karimnagar, sought medical help after experiencing a persistent cough and unexplained weight loss. His condition had worsened over the past ten days, making it difficult for him to sleep. A CT scan conducted by doctors revealed a lump-like structure in his lungs, initially believed to be an obstruction. However, further examination during the procedure confirmed it to be a long-lodged pen cap.
Dr. Shubhakar Nadella, Consultant Clinical and Interventional Pulmonologist at KIMS Hospital, explained that the patient’s older brother was consulted during the procedure. It was then that he recalled an incident from the patient’s childhood—at the age of five, he had accidentally swallowed a pen cap. At that time, a doctor had examined him but found no signs of obstruction, assuming the object had passed through his system naturally.
The complex procedure to extract the pen cap took nearly three hours. Using flexible bronchoscopy, the medical team carefully removed layers of tissue buildup, lymph nodes, and muscle formations surrounding the object.
“After clearing the area, we were able to successfully extract the pen cap. The long-term presence of the foreign body had caused some lung damage, but with antibiotic treatment, we managed to heal the affected area. The patient has now made a full recovery,” Dr. Nadella said.
He warned about the dangers of foreign objects remaining inside the body for extended periods, stating that delays in treatment could have led to severe lung damage, potentially requiring surgical removal of the affected tissue.
Dr. Nadella also advised parents to closely monitor young children to prevent accidental ingestion of small objects. He emphasized that immediate medical intervention is crucial in such cases to avoid serious complications.
