A 25 paise coin, which was stuck in the trachea (main windpipe) of a 40-year-old patient for the last eight years, was successfully removed by a team of doctors led by cardio-thoracic surgeon Prof Siddharth Lakhotia and Prof SK Mathur at Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, IMS-BHU.
Dr Siddharth said that it was very unusual for foreign bodies to lie in trachea of an adult due to presence of strong cough reflex. In children, this phenomena is common. Such a case where foreign body was lying for the last eight years is very rarely reported, especially in adults.
The whole procedure took 20 minutes and the patient is now fine and will be discharged from the hospital within one day after the procedure.
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Prof Lakhotia said previously one such case was successfully treated by his team at SSH, IMS-BHU. In that case, a metallic key of an almirah was stuck for the last 10 years and was successfully removed.
Such foreign bodies are life threatening and can cause choking, lead to pneumonia, or they may migrate distally and can cause collapse of lung.
{{/usCountry}}Such foreign bodies are life threatening and can cause choking, lead to pneumonia, or they may migrate distally and can cause collapse of lung.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Amrita from anaesthesiology department who played a key role in removing the coin, said such procedures demand very high degree of precision and a slight degree of error could lead to life threatening complications. In this case, advanced rigid bronchoscope with light and ventilation channels was used to remove this coin.
Dr Ratnesh, a cardiothoracic surgeon in the team said that this facility for removing foreign bodies from wind pipe of adults was available only in IMS, BHU in government hospitals of eastern UP. He also said that in case of adults, the chance of foreign bodies going in windpipe increases if a person sleeps keeping anything in mouth or is under semi-conscious state under effects of alcohol and drugs.