Doctors at a private hospital in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, have received a lot of praise for their non-surgical removal of a 4-cm-long needle from the lung of a 14-year-old girl. The medical team at Srikamatchi Medical Centre used bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive technique, to extract the needle in just three and a half minutes.
The girl had accidentally swallowed the needle while dressing, which led to immediate medical intervention. The procedure, which was recorded and shared online, showed the doctors removing the needle with remarkable precision. Since then, the video has gone viral, with nearly one lakh views and a ton of encouraging remarks on social media.
Bronchoscopy involves using a thin, lighted tube called a bronchoscope to look directly at the airways in the lungs. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the bronchoscope is inserted through the nose or mouth, down the throat and windpipe, and into the airways, allowing doctors to see the larynx, trachea, and large and medium-sized airways. This procedure is often used to investigate persistent coughs, infections, or abnormalities seen on chest X-rays.
Social media users praised the doctors' skills and effectiveness. One user commented, "Very good job; I salute all the doctors," while another wrote, "They are the unsung heroes who heal with their hands and hearts. Salute to these modern-day gods in white coats for their never-ending commitment to saving lives!"
This is not a single incident of bronchoscopy being used for such purposes. Earlier this month, doctors at Sri Ramachandra Hospital in Chennai used bronchoscopy to remove a five-cm-long LED bulb from the lung of a five-year-old boy. The boy had swallowed the bulb while playing, and it became lodged in his lungs, causing coughing and breathing difficulties. The removal procedure was particularly challenging due to the risk of breaking the glass bulb inside the lung.
Dr. R. Madhu, head of the pediatric surgery department at Sri Ramachandra Hospital, explained that while he had seen many cases of foreign objects entering the lungs, this was the first time he encountered a boy swallowing an LED bulb. The successful removal of the bulb without breaking it into dangerous pieces highlighted the precision required in such delicate procedures.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/ Susmita Bhandary/MSM)
