The 18-year-old was later diagnosed with trichophagia (aka Rapunzel syndrome), a rare condition that compels sufferers to eat their own hair. The matted mess was surgically extracted, and doctors tried to work out its origins. The scope found a massive, 5-kilogram (10 lb) clump of human hair. A CT scan confirmed a sizable mass, prompting gastrointestinal specialists to probe the region with an endoscope. Upon physical examination, doctors identified a firm mass in the upper region of her abdomen. She would often vomit after eating food and had lost a staggering 18 kilograms (40 lb). I laughed to myself and ate them.”Īn 18-year-old American woman presented with abdominal pain and distension. Some sage words from Sveden: “One of the first meals I had in the hospital after the surgery had peas for the vegetable.
As it turns out, the warmth and moistness of the human lung is ideal for rearing pea plants. Once inside the lung, the pea then split and started to grow. Months prior, Sveden was enjoying some nutritious veggies when the troublesome pea made its way down the wrong chute, entering the trachea instead of the esophagus. There, inside their patient’s lung, was a tiny, 1-centimeter (0.5 in) pea plant. The clinical team’s differential diagnosis ruled out cancer, but X-ray scans revealed the presence of an unusual growth. The 75-year-old retired teacher, Ron Sveden, presented with shortness of breath and a cough, symptoms that were initially attributed to emphysema.Īfter the man’s admission to A&E, doctors embarked on a frantic and confusing search for the cause of Sveden’s collapsed lung. Researchers believe the swordfish struck after mistaking the flashlight for a source of food.īack in 2010, a God-fearing-and now pea-fearing-Massachusetts resident was rushed to the hospital with a suspected collapsed lung. Swordfish often hunt at night for small fish, surveying the water’s surface for movement. The creature’s bill had penetrated into the third ventricle of the man’s brain, leading to a brain hemorrhage and severe swelling. Within days, the patient had lost consciousness and died.
The man, whose right eye had been impaled by the swordfish’s bill, was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital. In a murderous frenzy, the swordfish leaped toward its unsuspecting prey. The man was fishing in his boat when he shined a torchlight into the waters below. One of the reported victims, a 39-year-old fisherman, eventually succumbed to his injuries. One victim suffered thoracic trauma, another a knee injury, and two others sustained head traumas. To this day, the perp remains on the run.Īccording to a 2010 report penned in the journal BMC Surgery, there have been four cases of swordfish attacks discussed in scientific literature. Ichthyologists confirmed that the deadly weapon belonged to a swordfish ( Xiphias gladius).
The remains of a bill-minus the tip-were found near the scene of the attack. Over a month later and following several courses of antibiotics, the woman left the hospital on the mend. Additional surgery was then conducted to remove the swordfish bill. Surgeons controlled the bleeding and repaired the tissue damage. Of greater concern was the bony tip of the swordfish bill found lodged in the woman’s spinal canal. X-ray, CT, and MRI scans revealed damage to the liver and distention of the surrounding blood vessels. Realizing she had been speared by an angry fish, the woman pulled the animal from her body and made a speedy retreat. A young woman was enjoying a paddle off the coast of Santorini Island when, all of a sudden, she felt a stabbing sensation around her upper abdomen.