Tree growing in the lung

Tree growing in the lung

Surgeons in Russia thought they were going to remove a cancerous tumor from a 28-year-old patient – but instead they found a 5-centimeter tree growing inside his lung.

It happened in Russia’s Urals region while doctors were operating on Artyom Sidorkin, the Russian newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda Daily reported.
Doctors suspected Sidorkin had cancer after he complained of extreme pain in his chest and had been coughing up blood.

Doctors believe Sidorkin somehow inhaled a seed, which later sprouted inside his lung.

The spruce, which was touching the man's capillaries and causing severe pain, was removed.

The tree, measuring 5cm, was discovered by Russian doctors when they opened up Artyom Sidorkin, 28, to remove what they thought was a tumour.
Medical staff believe that Mr Sidorkin somehow inhaled a seed, which later sprouted into a small fir tree inside his lung.
The patient had complained of extreme pain in his chest and had been coughing up blood. Doctors were convinced he had cancer.
'We were 100 per cent sure,' said surgeon Vladimir Kamashev from Izhevsk in the Urals. 'We did X-rays and found what looked exactly like a tumour. I had seen hundreds before, so we decided on surgery.'

Before removing the major part of the man's lung, the surgeon investigated the tissue taken in a biopsy.
'I thought I was hallucinating,' said Dr Kamashev. 'I asked my assistant to have a look: "Come and see this - we've got a fir tree here".
'He nodded in shock. I blinked three times as I was sure I was seeing things.'
They believed the coughing of blood was caused by the tiny pine needles piercing blood capillaries. 'It was very painful. But to be honest I did not feel any foreign object inside me,' said Mr Sidorkin. 'I'm so relieved it's not cancer.'
The report appeared in popular tabloid Komsomolskaya Gazeta, and was picked up by Russian news service Novosti.