A 35-year-old Kolkata-based woman named Varsha Sahu had to undergo a surgical procedure to remove the screw from her nose pin, which had accidentally lodged in her lung after she inhaled it. Varsha had been wearing the nose pin since her wedding “16-17 years back”. Speaking to the BBC, she said she was unaware that the screw had come loose. The incident occurred approximately two months prior to her surgery, and according to Varsha, she was simply engaged in a conversation when she took a deep breath and inhaled the screw. “I had no idea it went into my airway. I assumed it had entered my stomach,” she explained to the BBC. Varsha, a mother of two, did not experience any immediate discomfort or complications from the inhaled screw. However, in March, she sought medical attention due to persistent difficulty breathing, coughing, and pneumonia. It was initially believed that her symptoms were related to a previous nose injury she had sustained. Nevertheless, after medications failed to alleviate her symptoms, Varsha consulted a pulmonologist for further evaluation. A CT scan subsequently revealed the presence of the screw in her lung, and a subsequent x-ray confirmed its exact location. Dr. Debraj Jash, a pulmonologist at Kolkata’s Medica Superspecialty Hospital, characterized Varsha’s case as “extremely rare”. According to Dr. Jash: “We occasionally encounter cases where dry fruits or betel nuts have been inhaled into the lungs, but these incidents typically involve young children or elderly individuals above 80. It is unusual to observe this in a female patient in her 30s.” Varsha was referred to Dr. Jash after the first pulmonologist she consulted was unsuccessful in removing the screw using a fiberoptic bronchoscope, which is a small camera with forceps that can be inserted into the airway. “We provided counseling to the patient prior to the procedure. She was understandably anxious about undergoing a second procedure so soon after the first, but we emphasized the fact that the human body is not designed to accommodate foreign objects,” explained Dr. Jash. He further elaborated that the surgical procedure, which lasted approximately 30 minutes, presented challenges due to the screw having been lodged in Varsha’s lung for an extended period. “We had to exercise extreme caution because if the screw came into contact with the airway during extraction, which is very narrow, it could cause injury and potentially lead to life-threatening complications,” he told the BBC. Following the successful surgical removal of the screw, Varsha was discharged from the hospital four days later.
Kolkata Woman Undergoes Surgery to Remove Nose Pin Screw From Lung
