Physicians removed a balloon packed with marijuana from a fellow’s nasal cavity 18 years after he smuggled it into prison. The 48-year-old man is now just fine. Physicians from Westmead Hospital in New South Wales, Australia, reported on the unusual case in the British Medical Journal. Apparently the man’s girlfriend handed him the package that he shoved up his nose for safekeeping. The package made its way into his nasal cavity where he lost track of it. From CNN:
“A 48-year-old man was referred to the Westmead ENT Department after a CT of the brain, originally performed for headaches, demonstrated an incidental 19x11mm calcified lesion in the right nasal cavity,” the report states.
“On questioning, the patient confirmed a long history of unilateral right nasal obstruction and recurrent sinonasal infections.”
The rhinolith was removed from the man’s nose under general anesthetic, and a subsequent study revealed that it contained a “rubber capsule containing degenerate vegetable/plant matter.”
“On follow-up and specific questioning, the patient was able to recall an incident that occurred 18 years prior, while he was incarcerated,” the report states. “He remained unaware of the package’s presence until presented with the unusual histopathology report.”
“A nose out of joint: first reported case of prison-acquired marijuana-based rhinolith” (British Medical Journal)
image: Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator (CC BY 2.5)
