Monday, April 11, 2005

A Strange Case of Intranasal Foreign Entity

Filed under: not funny

The Hong Kong Medical Journal describes a case of a Chinese woman who was presented to a doctor with unilateral epistaxis (nose bleed). And the diagnosis?

From the case report:

Endoscopic examination with a 2.7-mm rigid telescope was performed... A live leech was noticed at the left middle meatus with a large part of its body inside the left maxillary antrum (Fig 1). Five percent xylocaine nasal spray was applied to the left middle meatus to anaesthetise the leech and facilitate removal. After 2 minutes, the leech moved slowly out of the antrum and was retrieved with forceps. Magnetic resonance imaging of the paranasal sinus revealed only congested nasal mucosa and confirmed complete removal of leech.

More at the Hong Kong Medical Journal: abstract, full article (.pdf)...

(hat tip: BoingBoing)

                (0)