Doctors Force Man Into Surgery After Mistakenly Diagnosing A Toy Cone For Lung Cancer

Source - When doctors performed surgery on a man to remove what they suspected to be a bronchogenic carcinoma, they instead found a toy traffic cone he had swallowed in 1974. The Playmobil toy cone had gone undetected in the man’s right lung for 40 years.

The male patient, now 50 years old, reported that throughout his childhood, he regularly played with, and swallowed, Playmobil toy pieces. On his seventh birthday, back in 1974, he received a Playmobil set, and recalled swallowing the toy cone shortly afterward.

The patient consulted a doctor about a chronic cough that was concerning him. During his first couple months of treatment, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. These symptoms, along with the spread of a bacterial infection in the pockets of the lower right lung, led his team to believe that the man had a tumor, which needed prompt removal.

Four months after the toy was removed from the patient, his cough had almost disappeared and X-rays showed only a minor residual lung infection and irritation, said the report.

Ugh, a family’s worst nightmare- hearing dad’s addicted to swallowing toys. If cameras were there to capture the reveal, they would’ve won a daytime Emmy. Happiness followed by confusion followed by anger. Mom’s thrilled dad’s alive until she realizes the flexible spending money went to co-pays for his toy lung. She plays it cool until dad blames the dog for the missing Legos again and all hell breaks loose. Next thing you know the kids are celebrating two Christmases. Although I’m sure it was a relief for dad. No more daily stool checks, no more lies. Finally enough air in his lungs to swallow the kids’ Lincoln Logs.

The diagnosing doctor should have his license removed. Ryan Dunn went to a strip mall doctor and he was able to diagnose the car in his ass in five minutes. This guy took five years and an open lung surgery to figure it out. He probably knew the whole time. Just wanted to see how long he could milk it for before he stopped getting paid. If he was smart he would’ve stuck to his original diagnosis. He walks away the hero and the family lives happily ever after.

Regardless, the article goes on to list all the warning signs associated with adults swallowing foreign objects: asthma, pneumonia, symptoms mimicking bronchogenic carcinomas. Apparently there’s a whole population of people swallowing stuff they aren’t supposed to. It’s shocking TLC hasn’t picked it up for a series yet.