TIRUCHIRAPPALLI, JAN 6
A nose stud screw, which got stuck inside the respiratory tract of 55-year-old woman, was removed by a team of doctors at the Pudukottai Government Medical College Hospital (PGMCH) without operation on Saturday. The doctors removed the screw with the help of a bronchoscope equipped with a video camera.
The patient, Pushpam of Patammal Viduthi in Karambakkudi of Pudukottai district, was suffering from dry cough for the last one month. After she developed haemoptysis, where the patient coughs out blood-tinged sputum, she had visited the PGMCH last Thursday.
While screening her, doctors found that the screw of a nose stud was stuck in the woman’s wind pipe. Doctors have decided to remove the screw with the help of bronchoscopy process and it was carried out on Saturday.
“Endoscopic removal is a big achievement as it avoided the problems of major surgery. Bronchoscopy doesn’t require any preparation. We sprayed the airway to anesthetise it and the screw was pulled up,” said Dr. A.L. Meenakshi Sundaram, dean of Pudukottai Medical College Hospital.
“We had the advantage of having the thread visible in front. Since the diameter of the head is wide, we could catch hold of the head and pull it up through the bronchus. The moment the screw was removed, the lungs started expanding,” he said.
The screw had collapsed the passage and that segment of the lung wasn’t getting sufficient oxygen and she had repeated cough.
The X-Ray itself showed the screw. The treatment was done free of cost at the hospital, the dean added.
