20cm long ash branch found in 95-year-old woman's chest for two years

The old woman went to the hospital for a check-up. When she had a CT scan, the doctors were surprised to discover a 20cm long ash branch had been in her chest for the past two years.

Doctors at Ha Tinh General Hospital perform real surgery on Mr. H. - Photo: TD

On May 16, Ha Tinh General Hospital said that the hospital's doctors had just performed surgery on an elderly woman, TTH (95 years old, residing in Thanh Binh Thinh commune, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province), who was stabbed in the chest by an ash branch more than 20cm long.

It is worth mentioning that this ash branch had been in the old woman's chest for more than two years without anyone knowing, even though the family had taken the victim to many medical facilities for examination and treatment.

According to Mrs. H.'s family, in March 2023, while going out to the garden, Mrs. H. fell on the base of an ash tree and suffered bleeding in the right posterior chest area.

After that, her family took her to many places for examination and treatment, but no foreign object was found and only the wound on the right side of her chest was treated. After nearly two months of treatment, the wound was dry and Mrs. H. could walk on her own, although she still had a crooked leg and dull pain in her chest.

Foreign objects in Mr. H's prison cage for two years but no one knew - Photo: TD

By early April 2025, the old wound was swollen, painful and oozing fluid, so the family took the old woman to Ha Tinh Provincial General Hospital.

Here, after examination and chest CT scan, doctors discovered an abscess in the right lung with a foreign object from the right posterior chest next to the spine, penetrating the right lung to the top of the lung.

After consultation, Mr. H. was transferred to the operating room. During the surgery, the doctor discovered that the eighth rib was broken due to a foreign object that caused osteomyelitis and an abscess in the right lung. The doctors removed the foreign object, a 20cm long dry ash branch, cleaned and drained the abscess.

The patient is currently in stable condition, able to sit up and eat on his own. He is expected to be discharged in the next few days.

Dr. Tran Duc Dung - head of the general surgery department - who directly performed the surgery on the patient, said this was a rare case. At an age as rare as patient H., the endurance for more than 2 years is truly admirable.

LE MINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/canh-tro-dai-20cm-nam-trong-long-nuc-cu-ba-95-tuoi-suot-hai-nam-20250516162701073.htm