Hyderabad woman nearly dies after betel nut lodges in airway
A 57-year-old Hyderabad woman nearly died after a betel nut slipped into her airway during sleep. She was rushed to Kamineni Hospitals with severe breathing distress. Doctors removed the object via bronchoscopy, saving her life despite multiple pre-existing health conditions
Hyderabad: A small piece of betel nut almost proved fatal for a 57-year-old woman from Hyderabad before senior pulmonologists managed to revive her at the nick of time.
The woman, who had kept a small piece of betel nut in her mouth, fell asleep, and the foreign body accidentally slipped into her airway, causing violent coughing, shortness of breath, and severe discomfort.
When rushed to the emergency at Kamineni Hospitals, LB Nagar, the woman was in severe respiratory distress and was unable to breathe. Senior pulmonologists from the hospital, Dr E Ravinder Reddy and Dr Bharath Janapati, said the patient had to be placed on a ventilator in the ICU. Emergency tests revealed a complete blockage in the left bronchus, causing her left lung to collapse. The doctors also performed a bronchoscopy, which revealed obstruction due to the foreign object.
Given her medical history of hypertension, thyroid, and a previous angioplasty, the procedure required special care. With support from the anesthesia team, doctors performed a flexible bronchoscopy to remove the tightly wedged betel nut, Dr Bharath Janapati said.
