Lung Tumor? Toy Swallowed Decades Ago Gives Guy a Scare

Being told your lung tumor is actually a toy swallowed decades ago probably isn't the news Paul Baxter expected after having surgery to remove the "tumor."

Baxter and his doctors were all surprised upon finding what appeared to be a lung tumor was instead a Playmobil toy cone that became lodged in Baxter's lung in 1974 after he swallowed it, CNN reported.

A case report about the surgery, which happened three years ago, was published Saturday. Doctors speculate Baxter may have choked when he was swallowing the cone, causing it to enter his lung.

Baxter said he swallowed Playmobil toy pieces regularly when he was young, and remembers swallowing the toy cone just after his 7th birthday.

It is common for children to swallow or inhale small items, but very rare for symptoms of the object getting stuck to take 40 years to manifest, USA Today said.

Baxter’s symptoms, coughing and expelling mucus, along with pneumonia and damage of the breathing tubes, disappeared after the cone was removed, CNN reported.

Only three cases have ever been reported where an object in the lung was not detected for 20 years or more, CNN noted.

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