Dubai doctors remove 2cm fish bone lodged in Sharjah man's airway for months

In September, a 60-year-old Indian expatriate named Unnikrishnan Sivaraman sought medical attention at a hospital emergency department in Sharjah after experiencing persistent coughing, congestion, and breathing difficulties for nearly two months. Initially, doctors were unable to identify the cause of his symptoms. However, a CT scan revealed a 2cm fish bone lodged in his airway.

The fish bone, which had gone unnoticed by Mr. Sivaraman, was causing significant inflammation and granulation tissue to form around it. The bone's sharp edges and the surrounding inflammation made its removal a complex procedure that required careful planning and execution by a team of specialists in ear, nose, and throat medicine, pulmonology, and anaesthesia.

The removal process involved a bronchoscopy, during which doctors inserted a thin instrument into Mr. Sivaraman's airways. They then carefully moved the bone from the right main bronchus into the upper airway, where they were able to extract it using specialized forceps. The procedure took approximately 30-40 minutes, after which Mr. Sivaraman was discharged from the hospital within three hours.

In the aftermath of the operation, Mr. Sivaraman reported significant improvements in his breathing and overall condition. He expressed gratitude towards the medical team at Aster Hospital Mankhool for his recovery. Fish bones are among the most commonly ingested food-related foreign bodies, particularly in Asia, with studies showing that they are more often found in the esophagus than in the airway.

To prevent similar incidents, Dr. Jolsana Augustine, a pulmonologist at the hospital, advised people to be cautious when eating fish, particularly varieties with small or sharp bones. She recommended eating slowly, chewing carefully, and avoiding talking or laughing while chewing. Additionally, she suggested that children and older adults may require extra attention while eating fish to minimize the risk of foreign bodies lodging in their airways.