Doctors remove pen cap stuck in man’s lungs for 21 years

Doctors performed three-hour procedure to remove the pen cap.
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement

Doctors at KIMS Hospital, Kondapur in Hyderabad successfully removed a pen cap that had remained lodged in a man’s lungs for 21 years. The 26-year-old patient from Karimnagar had unknowingly carried the 1 cm foreign object since the age of five, after accidentally swallowing it. Doctors got to know this after he sought medical attention for a persistent cough and unexplained weight loss that had worsened over the past month.

His condition became particularly severe in the last ten days, making it difficult for him to sleep. Concerned about his deteriorating health, he consulted doctors, who conducted an initial CT scan revealing an infection in the lower left lung. He was then referred to KIMS Hospital, where a more detailed scan was performed. Consultant Clinical and Interventional Pulmonologist, Dr. Shubhakar Nadella, led the diagnosis and treatment.

“When the patient arrived, we conducted a CT scan, which revealed a lump-like structure inside his lungs. Initially, we suspected an obstruction responsible for his persistent cough. However, during the procedure, we discovered that the blockage was actually a pen cap,” Dr. Nadella explained.

Doctors called in the patient’s elder brother to enquire about any childhood incidents. It was then that he recalled the patient had accidentally swallowed a pen cap at the age of five. At the time, a medical examination had shown no abnormalities, leading doctors to assume the object had passed naturally through the digestive system.

Three-hour procedure

The procedure to remove the pen cap lasted nearly three hours. Using a flexible bronchoscopy, doctors cleared the surrounding tissue buildup, lymph nodes, and muscle formations before successfully extracting the object. 

“Leaving foreign objects inside the body for such an extended period is extremely dangerous. Had the patient delayed further, his lung tissue could have been permanently damaged, necessitating surgical removal of the affected section,” said Dr. Nadella.