Becareful when you use nasal gold studs

KOCHI: The Interventional Pulmonology team at Amrita Hospital, Kochi successfully removed a gold nasal stud (nose ring) from the lungs of a 21-year-old lady from Palarivattom. The stud reached the lungs inadvertently while she was sneezing. Initially, she thought she had swallowed it.

For confirmation, a chest x-ray was taken from a nearby hospital, which showed aspirated gold stud in the lowest part of her right lungs. Generally, a key-hole surgery of lungs is done at many hospitals to retrieve any sharp objects which get trapped in the lower part of lungs.

To avoid a surgery, the patient consulted Dr Tinku Joseph who is an Interventional Pulmonologist based in Kochi. He performed an endoscopic procedure using a newly designed hooked forceps which was guided through the endoscope into the lower lobe of patients lung where the gold stud was located. After tow and a half hours of effort, he managed to successfully retrieve the gold stud from the lungs, thereby saving her from the trauma and the high cost of undergoing a surgery.

The doctor said when there is a foreign body in the lung, the lungs get destroyed. When the lung gets destroyed, there could be pus formation, Pneumonia and over a period of time it could cause irreparable damage,”he said. He also said that among people who are suffering from asthma and allergy there is a high risk of aspiration of nasal piercings and studs if they are not worn properly. Also, such objects can lead to persistent nasal irritation, sneezing among people who are suffering from allergy.