6cm leech found in throat after hoarse voice

Hanoi After a month of chewing a handful of weeds, a 53-year-old man had a hoarse voice and a sore throat. He went to the doctor and discovered a 6cm long leech in his throat.

A month ago, the patient cut his hand while trapping rats, so he picked a handful of grass and chewed it to cover the bleeding wound. Recently, he felt a lump in his throat, a burning pain, and a feeling of an animal wriggling in his throat. He looked in the mirror and saw a dark brown object moving. After that, he had a hoarse voice and coughed up blood-stained fluid, so he went to the Central Endocrinology Hospital for examination.

On February 28, Master, Doctor Ha Manh Hung, Deputy Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Dentistry - Ophthalmology, said that this was a rare case of a living foreign body in the airway. Through endoscopy, the doctor discovered a foreign body firmly attached to the subglottis near the trachea. The patient was anesthetized, then the team removed the foreign body, a 6 cm long live leech.

The leech was removed from the patient's throat. Photo: Provided by the hospital — The leech was removed from the patient's throat. Photo: *Provided by the hospital*

Doctors said that when leeches first enter the body, they are usually very small, but they will suck blood and grow very quickly, causing danger.

People should not use unsafe water sources, leaves, and wild vegetables from streams and ditches for drinking or daily activities, to prevent foreign objects from entering.

Le Nga

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