In a bizarre medical case, doctors at Amritha Hospital in Kerala’s Kochi successfully removed a 4 cm-long cockroach from the lungs of a 55-year-old man. The man had initially sought treatment for severe breathing difficulties, leading to the shocking discovery.
The incident, which occurred on February 22, saw a medical team, led by Dr Tinku Jospeh, Head of Interventional Pulmonology, spring into action to extract the cockroach. Health experts believe that the insect entered the man’s lungs through a tube that had been inserted in his neck to provide oxygen due to respiratory issues.
The patient’s condition worsened, prompting further investigation by the ENT department, which conducted a bronchoscopy and confirmed the presence of the cockroach in the lungs. Following eight hours of respiratory arrest, the medical team was able to remove the insect, although it had begun to disintegrate.
Dr Joseph, in an interview with Asianet News Online, expressed that while cases of foreign objects becoming lodged in the lungs are not uncommon, incidents involving live insects are extremely rare. Health experts speculate that such occurrences could be attributed to negligence, such as failing to properly seal the breathing tube.
In a separate instance, a man from Florida, USA, experienced a troubling medical situation where doctors found live insects infesting his nasal passages and sinuses. Since October, the patient, who had previously battled cancer, had been experiencing nosebleeds and discomfort. This discovery led to the diagnosis of nasal myiasis, a rare condition caused by an infestation of fly larvae.
Following the examination, Dr David Carlson described how the larvae varied in size, with some as large as the end of his pinky finger. He observed that some larvae were actively moving around the nose in search of places to feed, while others had already burrowed into the tissue.
The man was treated with a specialised antiparasitic rinse for his nose and is anticipated to recover fully.
In yet another incident, doctors in Missouri, US, found a fly in a 63-year-old man’s intestine during a colonoscopy. Despite being deep inside, the fly didn’t react when prodded. The man had no idea how it got there, considering it a “mystery.”
He had no symptoms and had only drunk clear liquids the day before the procedure. The only explanation seemed to be that the fly entered his body while he was eating pizza and salad the night before. Matthew Bechtold, chief of gastroenterology at the University of Missouri, suggested to the Independent that the fly might have entered through the mouth or rear, as surviving the digestive enzymes and stomach acid made swallowing unlikely. He also noted the unlikely journey of the fly through the intestine to its middle part.
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