A team of doctors at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) in Tiruchi saved the life of a toddler by removing a foreign body resembling a betel nut lodged in his left lung that had caused him severe breathing difficulty recently.
According to a statement issued by MGMGH, one-year-old boy from Srirangam had been undergoing treatment for cough and fever at a private hospital for over 10 days. When the child developed sudden severe breathing difficulty on Monday (November 17, 2025), he was brought to MGMGH with the support of mechanical ventilation and immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
An X-ray revealed the presence of a foreign body resembling a betel nut lodged in the left bronchus, as a result of which the child’s left lung was not functioning properly. The child was then shifted to the operation theatre, where under general anaesthesia, a rigid bronchoscopy procedure was performed, and the foreign body was successfully removed from the left bronchus.
This procedure cleared the airway and restored the normal passage of air into the lungs. The left lung, which had collapsed and become stiff due to the blockage, began to function normally as airflow was re-established, thus saving the child’s life.
The treatment was carried out under the supervision of Dean Dr. S. Kumaravel and MGMGH medical superintendent Dr. Udaya Aruna. The medical team consisted of ENT specialists Dr. Sivasubramanian, Dr. J. Balasubramani, assistant professors Dr. V. Sundararaman and Dr. V. Annamalai, Dr. Senthil Kumar Mohan (Anaesthesiology), and nursing staff.
Published – November 18, 2025 12:45 pm IST
