79-year-old swallows button in sleep, safe after op at city hosp

Kolkata: A kurta button stuck in the lungs of a 79-year-old man from Patna was extracted through a procedure at a Kolkata private hospital. The man, who was suffering from recurrent chest infection, sepsis and severe pneumonia, has shown remarkable improvement after the removal of the button through a bronchoscopy. He was not aware that he had accidentally swallowed the button: it slipped into his mouth while he was asleep.A survivor of vocal-cord carcinoma or a malignant growth on the tissues of larynx, the man was treated at multiple hospitals without any significant improvement before he was brought to ILS Hospitals, Dum Dum.He was admitted on Thursday and was put on multiple intravenous antibiotics, but his condition showed no sign of improvement. Suspecting a case of non-resolving pneumonia, the pulmonology team at ILS Hospitals decided to conduct a bronchoscopy. During the procedure, doctors discovered ‘an impacted foreign body' — a button — lodged in his left lower lobe bronchus.The medical team successfully removed the button using a foreign body forceps through bronchoscopy. The patient's son later identified it as a missing button from his father's kurta. Removal of impacted foreign body from inside the lung is always challenging for interventional pulmonologists, said Mrinmoy Mitra, consultant pulmonologist, ILS Hospital, Dum Dum, who conducted the procedure. "It requires planning and proper execution. The whole process of intervention was done by light sedation. In this case, I first identified the button inside left lower lobe (a distant segment of left lung) through proper negotiation with bronchoscope. Then it was held firmly by a foreign-body forceps through bronchoscope. After that, it was removed gradually from the lung through airway (windpipe)," Mitra said.He added that the case highlights the importance of timely diagnosis and advanced interventional pulmonology in managing complex cases of non-resolving pneumonia.The patient is currently recovering in the ICU under continued medical supervision.A foreign object lodged in the lungs (pulmonary aspiration) is a serious medical situation that can lead to a variety of immediate and long-term complications, according to experts. The severity usually depends on the size of the object, what it's made of, and how deep into the airway it has travelled.Immediate risks include airway obstruction if the object is large, leading to shortness of breath, wheezing and violent coughing. That part of the lung may deflate or collapse, making breathing less efficient. It could also cause hypoxia if a significant blockage lowers oxygen levels in the blood, which can lead to cyanosis (bluish tint to the skin/lips) and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness.