Press Coverage

Patna, 13^th May, 2019:  After constantly complaining of chronic cough, breathlessness and intermittent fever for the past one and a half year, 56 years old male Lalit Kumar Jha from Nepal was brought to Paras HMRI Hospital, Patna and was relieved of all his problems. A betel nut aspirated by Jha in right lung one and half year back when he aspirated it during sleeping in night. Betel nut was removed at the super specialty hospital by a procedure called bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. The patient used to suffer from cough, bouts of breathlessness and fever every two months and would recover post-treatment with antibiotics. He was taken to various hospitals across Nepal but in vain. However, after he was admitted to Paras HMRI Hospital, a CT scan revealed that a portion of his right lung remained non-functional. Bronchoscopy was done under general anesthesia to remove betel nut from the right lung.  The patient, post-procedure, is leading a normal healthy life.

Dr. Kumar Abhishek, Pulmonary department, Paras HMRI Hospital said, “The patient went to sleep after consuming a betel nut around 18 months ago. After suffering from breathlessness in the middle of the night, he was taken to the hospital and his situation was brought under control. However, after that incident, he would suffer from bouts of cough, breathlessness, and fever intermittently. After we conducted a CT scan, the right lung’s pleural membrane appeared thicker than normal since it was filled with water because of recurrent infection.”

Dr. Abhishek added, “We doubted there was a tumor in the lung and so we performed a bronchoscopy on him. However, it was revealed that there was no tumor. Instead, there was a betel nut stuck in that area. Through bronchoscopy, we managed to pull out the nut after 2.5 hours of struggle.” He further advised that “one should not go to sleep immediately after eating something because it aggravates the chances of food particles going down the air way. The contribution of Dr. Prashant, in-charge, ICU in the bronchoscopy cannot be overlooked.”

Dr. Abhishek said, “Because of the availability of world-class modern machines at Paras HMRI Hospital, it makes it easy for us to diagnose diseases and treat them effectively.. Besides, the hospital is equipped with all kinds of equipment which assists us in performing the most difficult surgeries & therapeutic interventions.”