Excruciating pain that misdiagnosed 57-year-old was experiencing for 7 months turns out to be betel nut pieces stuck in his lungs. Doctors said, the man had been battling repeated lung infections for nearly six months, which were initially misdiagnosed as routine pneumonia. He suffered from persistent symptoms, including breathlessness
The betel nut pieces extracted from the man’s lungs. Pic/By Special Arrangement
A 57-year-old man from Vapi, who endured excruciating pain for seven months due to repeated misdiagnoses, finally found relief after consulting doctors at a Ghatkopar hospital. What was repeatedly diagnosed as pneumonia since November last year turned out to be two pieces of betel nut lodged in his lungs.
I visited my local doctor in Vapi at least four times over seven months. The symptoms were always the same, and so was the diagnosis. Only the pain kept increasing. It felt like an endless cycle. I was on medication, but nothing worked. I also lost 6 kg because I couldn’t eat properly due to the constant pain and illness,” said the patient, who suffered from persistent cold, cough, fever, and chest pain. As his condition worsened, a friend recommended he visit Zynova Shalby Hospital in Ghatkopar, where they had previously received good treatment.
The case
Dr Tanvi Bhatt, pulmonologist at Zynova Shalby Hospitals, explained: “The man had been battling repeated lung infections for nearly six months, which were initially misdiagnosed as routine pneumonia. He suffered from persistent symptoms, including breathlessness, coughing, and severe discomfort. Sometimes, people chew food while lying down or keep things like fennel seeds or betel nuts in their mouths for extended periods. If they lie down with this habit, there’s a risk of pulmonary aspiration — even in healthy individuals. This can lead to complications like aspiration pneumonia or even lung collapse. That’s exactly what happened in this case.”
A bronchoscopy revealed two betel nut pieces lodged in the right lower lobe of the lung. Representation pic/istock
A bronchoscopy — a procedure using a thin, flexible tube with a camera to view the airways — revealed two betel nut pieces lodged in the right lower lobe of the lung. These foreign bodies had been missed in earlier tests and caused repeated infections due to inflammation and tissue damage, mimicking pneumonia.
“Foreign bodies can trigger repeated infections that resemble pneumonia, with similar symptoms like cough and fever. Imaging might show infection-like patterns, making it easy to misdiagnose unless you conduct a bronchoscopy. This case shows the importance of re-evaluating when a patient doesn’t respond to standard treatment,” Dr Bhatt said, adding that chewing gutkha or betel nuts not only raises cancer risk but can also become life-threatening in other ways.
The procedure was swift and minimally invasive. Performed under local anaesthesia with mild sedation, the bronchoscopy took around 10 minutes, followed by a 30-40 minute surgery. The patient was discharged the same day.
Lesson learnt?
“From the very next day, I started feeling better. I’ve regained my lost weight, and a month after surgery, I’m back to my normal routine. It’s hard to give up gutkha immediately, but I’ve already quit smoking and plan to stop chewing gutkha too,” he said.
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