In a stunning medical case, a 26-year-old male from Karimnagar, Telangana, had a pen cap lodged in his lungs for 21 years without realizing it. He was five years old when he swallowed the cap accidentally, and it went unnoticed until recent health issues that led to the discovery.
We initially believed the lump was the cause of his persistent cough. However, during the procedure, we discovered that it was actually a pen cap lodged in his lung. Midway through the surgery, we contacted his elder brother to check if he had ever swallowed anything as a child. That’s when he remembered that, at the age of five, he had accidentally ingested a pen cap.Dr. Shubhakar Nadella, Surgeon
The patient had a chronic cough and unexplained weight loss over the last month. His condition deteriorated further in the last ten days, leading to significant discomfort and sleep disturbances. Seeking relief, he consulted doctors at KIMS Hospital in Hyderabad. A CT scan revealed an infection in the lower left lung, accompanied by a suspicious lump-like structure. Initially, medical professionals suspected this lump was the source of his symptoms. During a bronchoscopy procedure, they found the reason: a pen cap stuck deep inside the lung tissue.
Dr. Shubhakar Nadella, Consultant Clinical and Interventional Pulmonologist at KIMS Hospital, headed the medical team during this complex procedure. Halfway through the operation, the team called the patient's older brother to ask if there were any childhood accidents. It was then remembered that, at five years old, the patient had swallowed a pen cap accidentally. During that period, clinical examinations did not find the foreign body, and it was presumed to have come out on its own from his system.
Flexible bronchoscopy was utilised by the surgical team to traverse the intricate airway anatomy and reach the stuck pen cap. The three-hour procedure involved meticulously removing tissue buildup, lymph nodes, and muscle formations that had developed around the foreign object over two decades. Once the surrounding area was cleared, the pen cap was successfully extracted. Post-surgery, the patient received targeted antibiotic treatment to address the infection and aid in the recovery of the affected lung tissue. Remarkably, he has since made a full recovery.
Foreign objects, especially those ingested during childhood, can remain asymptomatic for extended periods, only manifesting complications years later. Dr. Nadella pointed out the possible risks of not treating such objects, citing that extended exposure can cause extensive lung damage, which, if not treated in time, may require surgical removal of the damaged lung segment.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Pragati Sakhuja/MSM)