Telangana man lives 21 years with pen cap in lung, undergoes successful surgery

"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," said Dr. Shubhakar Nadella, who performed the surgery.

Hyderabad: For 21-years, a youngster from Karimnagar in Telangana State lived with a pen cap lodged in his lungs. For the past one month, the youngster, who had accidentally swallowed a pen’s cap when he was just 5-year-old, was experiencing persistent cough and unexplained weight loss. By the time the 26-year-old youngster was admitted to KIMS Hospital, Madhapur, his condition had worsened due to persistent cough and lung damage. Due to his condition, the youngster was diagnostic tests revealed an infection in the lower left lung due to a lump-like structure.

“We initially assumed that the lump was behind the persistent cough. However, during the procedure, we discovered that it was actually a pen cap lodged inside. Midway through the procedure, we called his elder brother and asked if he had ever swallowed anything as a child. That’s when he recalled that, at the age of five, he had accidentally swallowed a pen cap,” Dr. Shubhakar Nadella who conducted the surgery.

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The procedure to remove the pen cap took nearly three hours. Using a flexible bronchoscopy, we first removed the tissue buildup, lymph nodes, and muscle formations around the object. Once the surrounding area was cleared, we successfully extracted the pen cap. The prolonged presence of a foreign body had caused lung damage, but we managed to restore the affected area with antibiotic treatment. The patient has now fully recovered,” he added.