19.12.2025 13:21
In Antalya, a pill that Sahibe Güzin Zeybekoğlu (75) accidentally swallowed with an aluminum foil four years ago was removed from her lung using a bronchoscopic method.
In Antalya, a pill that Sahibe Güzin Zeybekoğlu (75) accidentally swallowed with an aluminum wrapper four years ago was removed using a bronchoscopic method. Zeybekoğlu joked, "I had excessive phlegm and severe cough complaints, it turns out I had swallowed the pill."
Sahibe Güzin Zeybekoğlu, who was hospitalized with her husband due to Covid in 2021 and lost her husband five days later, swallowed her pill without removing it from the blister pack due to sadness and distraction. At that moment, Zeybekoğlu felt a pain in her throat and thought the pill had gone to her stomach and would be expelled from her intestines, so she did not take the incident seriously.
HE CARRIED IT IN HIS LUNG FOR 4 YEARS
Three weeks after being discharged from the hospital where she was treated for Covid, Zeybekoğlu, thinking she had recovered, returned to the hospital due to increasing cough and phlegm complaints. After tests and examinations, the patient was told that she had a nodule in her lung and could not regain her health despite medication. Unable to leave her home due to severe cough and increasing phlegm, Zeybekoğlu applied to a different hospital this time. A suspicious lesion was detected in her lung during a chest CT scan, and she was referred to the Department of Chest Diseases at Akdeniz University (AÜ) Faculty of Medicine. Associate Professor Dr. Fatih Üzer and Dr. Aliye Gamze Çalış, who performed bronchoscopy, discovered that the suspicious lesion in the patient's right lung was a pill inside a blister. After an approximately 20-minute intervention under anesthesia, the patient was freed from the pill she had carried in her lung for four years.
I FELT PAIN IN MY THROAT
Sahibe Güzin Zeybekoğlu, who stated that she was hospitalized when her condition worsened due to the coronavirus in 2021, recounted her difficult process. She expressed that she and her husband fell ill at the same time and were hospitalized together, stating that her husband, who had heart disease, could not survive and passed away by her side. Besides the illness, Zeybekoğlu, who was in great sorrow, indicated that she had swallowed her pill without removing it from the blister due to distraction. Zeybekoğlu said, "At that moment, I felt pain in my throat. I realized I had swallowed it with the packaging, but I thought it would be expelled from the intestines."
Zeybekoğlu, who reported that she was discharged after three weeks of treatment in the hospital, stated that her cough and phlegm complaints never went away. She shared that she was embarrassed to go out in public due to excessive coughing and increasing phlegm, which affected her quality of life, and added:
"In the hospitals I visited due to my complaints, a lung CT was performed, and I was told that there was crystallization and a nodule in my lung. Medications were given, but my complaints did not go away. The last doctor we visited referred me to Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine."
'I HAD SWALLOWED THE PILL'
Zeybekoğlu expressed her surprise when she saw the pill inside the blister that Associate Professor Dr. Fatih Üzer and Dr. Aliye Gamze Çalış removed from her right lung using a bronchoscopic method, and thanked her doctors. Zeybekoğlu said, "May God bless my doctors," and added, "I had completely forgotten about the incident I experienced in the hospital in 2021. I thought the pill I swallowed with the aluminum wrapper had come out of my body. It never crossed my mind that it had lodged in my lung." Jokingly, Zeybekoğlu said, "It turns out I had swallowed the pill," and mentioned that she felt good after the difficult days. While thanking the doctors who restored her health, Zeybekoğlu made a heart sign with her hands.
IT WAS SAID THERE WAS A NODULE IN THE LUNG
Zeybekoğlu's daughter, Aylin Zeybekoğlu Türker (55), stated, "After my mother had Covid, we used to have her check-ups every six months, then once a year." Türker noted that it was said there was a nodule in her lung during the lung CT scan, and continued: "Doctors said my mother needed to be constantly monitored and to use the prescribed medications regularly. We continued like this. The last doctor we visited said there was a difference between the two CT scans and that he saw something different, like metal, in the lung, and referred us to Akdeniz University."
Türker, joking like her mother, who regained her health after a difficult process, said, "It turns out my mother had swallowed the pill. We approach it humorously. Thanks to our professors, the pill my mother swallowed was removed. The medication treatment continues. Her complaints have decreased. We are now reaching the end of the road. We thank everyone who contributed."
SHE DID NOT NOTICE DUE TO EMOTIONAL REACTION
Associate Professor Dr. Fatih Üzer stated that such foreign body aspirations in the lung are more commonly seen in bedridden individuals who are not fully conscious, those with Alzheimer’s, and those under the influence of medication or alcohol, saying, "Actually, we do not see this situation very often in conscious individuals." He attributed Sahibe Güzin Zeybekoğlu's swallowing of her pill with the aluminum packaging to both the Covid illness she experienced and the sorrow from the loss of her husband, continuing:
"Our patient did not realize she had swallowed the medication due to the emotional reaction caused by these two unfortunate events. Of course, since she did not realize it, she did not go to the doctors with a complaint like 'The medication has gone into my lung,' so the necessary tests were not adequately performed at that time. The development of a nodule during the follow-up period in the patient is also another misfortune. Other physician colleagues focused on the nodule, so our patient had been a patient under nodule follow-up for about 4 years."
Associate Professor Dr. Üzer explained that when Zeybekoğlu approached them, they thought there could be a metallic density (consolidation of lung tissue) in her lung as a result of the tests they performed, saying, "We took the patient for the procedure. The procedure was performed by our faculty member Aliye Gamze Çalış."
NO PROBLEMS OCCURRED
Associate Professor Dr. Üzer explained that the presence of a foreign body in the lung for a long time can lead to the formation of scar tissue (a type of scar) there, and continued:
"A foreign body can become embedded in lung tissue over time and may not be removable, or it can cause serious bleeding while being attempted to be removed."Hastada yaptığımız değerlendirmede bunun oynayan yabancı bir cisim olduğunu fark ettik ve almaya karar verdik. Aldıktan sonra da herhangi bir problem yaşamadık. "
Hastanın akciğerinde kalan herhangi bir parça olmadığını, akciğere kaçan hapın blisteriyle birlikte çıkarıldığını vurgulayan Doç. Dr. Üzer, "Yabancı cismin olduğu yerde oluşan iyileşme dokusu bazen akciğeri kapatabiliyor ve akciğerin havalanmasına engel olabiliyor. Biz de öncelikle o dokuyu iyileştirmek adına medikal bir tedavi başlattık. Birkaç ay hastayı takip edeceğiz. Bu dokunun iyileşmemesi halinde bir müdahale daha gerekebilir" dedi.
PILL SIZE 1 CENTIMETER
Emphasizing that the right side of the lung is more prone to foreign body aspiration, Assoc. Dr. Üzer stated, "In this case, there may be a cough in the early period. The foreign body in our patient is 1 centimeter in size. Normally, it should be noticed, but the patient did not realize it due to the emotional reaction in which they found themselves."
Assoc. Dr. Üzer also noted that the 'Heimlich maneuver', which is frequently mentioned in the media, is applied for foreign bodies that have entered the upper respiratory tract, stating, "However, bronchoscopy is required to remove foreign bodies that have entered the lower part of the lung."
HE CAME WITH CHRONIC COUGH
Dr. Öğr. Gör. Aliye Gamze Çalış stated that they re-evaluated the 4-year lung tomography of Sahibe Güzin Zeybekoğlu, who came to them with complaints of chronic cough and sputum, saying, "We saw a metallic density in the lower airway of the right lung." Later, Dr. Çalış expressed that they decided to perform bronchoscopy on the patient, saying:
"We entered through the mouth with an endoscope and visualized the airways. We saw a suspicious area in the right lower lobe bronchus. We approached the lesion there with a catheter and removed it with forceps, and we saw that it was a drug capsule."
WE REMOVED THE PILL AS A WHOLE
Emphasizing that a person can choke during foreign body aspiration into the lung, Dr. Çalış stated, "This depends on the size of the object that has entered the lung and the reflex the person gives at that moment. While trying to swallow, the person may inadvertently aspirate due to the incomplete swallowing reflex." Noting that what is attempted to be swallowed can sometimes block the main airway and lead to sudden complaints, Dr. Çalış said, "Sometimes foreign bodies can escape to the lower part of the right lung. There, it can cause chronic cough, sputum, and shortness of breath." Dr. Çalış pointed out that they removed the pill inside the blister that had entered Zeybekoğlu's right lower lobe as a whole, stating, "As a team, we are experienced in this matter."