Mexican woman discovers lost nose piercing lodged in lung after month of chronic coughing

Kathmandu. In Mexico, 26-year-old Monica Dayanira Cabrera Barajas suffered from a persistent cough for an entire month. She hoped an X-ray would identify the problem, but she was shocked by the results. The X-ray report revealed a small piece of a nose piercing stuck inside her lung.

Initially visiting the hospital thinking it was a minor issue, she only realized her piercing was missing after receiving the report. According to her, the small piece likely fell out while she was sleeping and was inhaled into her airway. "I was sleeping on my back, I have no idea how this happened," she speculated, suggesting she may have inhaled it unknowingly.

Doctors stated that the metal piercing was only 0.5 millimeters away from the aorta, the main blood vessel connected to her heart. Surgery was required to remove it. Doctors were unable to extract it even after 1 hour and 20 minutes of effort.

A second complex surgery was then required. Physicians noted that if the piece of the piercing had damaged her lung or aorta, it could have been fatal. Following this incident, the woman has decided not to get a septum piercing again.