Article Text
Unusual presentation of more common disease/injury
CASE REPORT
An airway traffic jam: a plastic traffic cone masquerading as bronchial carcinoma
Summary
Tracheobronchial foreign body (TFB) aspiration is a common occurrence in children compared with adults. Long-standing cases of TFB aspiration during childhood presenting in an adult have rarely been reported. We report the unique case of an endobronchial Playmobil traffic cone that went undetected for 40 years and presented as a suspected bronchogenic carcinoma. This was subsequently removed successfully with flexible bronchoscopy. To our knowledge this is the first case of a TFB that was overlooked this length of time.
- respiratory medicine
- respiratory cancer
- lung cancer (oncology)