The object is a piece of catfish bone about 15x3mm in size located in the upper lobe of the right lung.
One month ago, Chon suffered from food blocked with airway obstruction and severe coughing as he choked on the catfish bone while eating. Three weeks later, the patient had hemoptysis, so his relatives took him to Laos hospitals for treatment but failed. On July 25, the patient was transferred to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Hue Central Hospital. Here, the patients were required to perform the essential tests, the CT scan of the lung shows complications of obstructive pneumonia, suspecting of airway obstruction in the B2 branch. Chon had been diagnosed by doctors in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Department of Endocrinology - Neurology - Respiratory as they decided to remove the foreign body with flexible bronchoscopy.
Doctors removing the foreign body from the lung for Chon. Photo Lan Huong
On the morning of August 2, doctors of Department of Endocrinology - Neurology - Respiratory successfully removed the foreign body which was a sharp piece of fish bone penetrated at the B2 branch in the upper right lobe, there were edema and bleeding at the site of surrounding bronchial mucosa.
Specialist Doctor Hoang Thi Lan Huong, Vice Director of Hue Central Hospital, who directly performed the flexible bronchoscopy, said that taking the object out required skillful and careful techniques, experiences and effective cooperation with doctors in the related departments.
Choking with airway obstruction is an emergency, which is necessary to perform Heimlich maneuver to remove foreign bodies from the airway. If it is not successful, it is necessary to bring patients to specialized medical facilities in the shortest time to perform bronchoscopy to remove the foreign bodies.
Patient Chon’s case was caused by forgotten foreign bodies, after being choked, the patient thought he had spit them out; so, he did not go to the hospital for physical examination.
By Minh Truong