Hyderabad: Doctors Remove Pen Cap from Man’s Lung After 21 Years

Doctors at KIMS Hospital in Hyderabad successfully removed a pen cap from the lung of a 26-year-old man, who had unknowingly lived with it for 21 years.

The man, from Karimnagar, went to the hospital after suffering from a persistent cough and weight loss. His condition worsened over ten days, making it hard for him to sleep. A CT scan showed a lump in his lung, which doctors initially thought was a blockage. However, during the procedure, they discovered it was actually a pen cap.

Dr. Shubhakar Nadella, a lung specialist at KIMS Hospital, spoke to the patient’s older brother during the procedure. The brother then remembered that when the patient was five years old, he had accidentally swallowed a pen cap. At the time, doctors assumed it had passed naturally since no issues were found.

The complex procedure took nearly three hours. Using a flexible bronchoscope, doctors carefully removed tissue, lymph nodes, and muscle that had grown around the pen cap. “After clearing the area, we successfully removed the object. It had caused some lung damage, but with antibiotics, we treated the infection. The patient has now fully recovered,” Dr. Nadella said.

He warned that leaving foreign objects in the body for a long time can cause severe damage, and in some cases, surgery may be needed to remove affected tissue.

Dr. Nadella also advised parents to closely watch young children to prevent them from swallowing small objects. He emphasized that seeking immediate medical help in such cases can prevent serious complications.