Throughout history, the medical field has encountered many unusual diagnostic cases. We take a brief look at six of these odd patient experiences. 1. An “urge” to swallow knives Surgeons in India has reportedly removed 40 knives from a 42-year-old man’s stomach, after the patient reported that he had an uncontrollable urge to swallow it – due to a “liking of how they tasted”. This strange case was brought to light after he complained of abdominal pain and weakness. Initial ultrasound scans revealed some solid masses, which doctors thought were cancer. However, upon surgery, doctors were appalled to find an astonishing 40 knifes. Luckily for him, after a five-hour long surgery, he was successfully treated, and has been discharged. 2. Porcupine quill ingested pokes hole in aorta A 49-year-old woman has been complaining of shortness of breath and a worsening chest pain, but was sent home upon consultation, being dismissed as having a panic attack. When she went to the hospital a second time, doctors found fluid accumulation in the sac around the heart, along with a "poorly defined defect" on the wall of the aorta. The excess fluid was drained, but recurred, and then doctors found blood in the fluids. Scans revealed the defect growing in size, and during the surgery, the doctors was astonished to find a sharp object resembling a quill in her aorta. When asked, she reported that it might have stemmed from her dog being tangled with a porcupine, and from her de-quilling the dog. The quill had penetrated in her esophagus, affecting her aorta that resulted in the subsequent bleeding. 3. World’s hottest ghost pepper burns one-inch hole in throat A 47-year-old man burned a 2.5 cm hole in his esophagus after consuming Bhut Jolokia, the world’s hottest chili. He began to vomit uncontrollably and violently that he tore a hole in his esophagus. He was sent to the emergency room when he began reeling on the floor in pain, where it was discovered that he had a build-up of air, fluid and food inside his body. It was only in the operating theatre that it was found that he had a massive tear on the left side of his throat. He was given a breathing-aid tube for 14 days, and was left the hospital with a feeding tube. Doctors remarked that he was lucky to have survived, as few individuals survive such a tear, also known Boerhaave syndrome, after Dutch doctor Herman Boerhaave. 4. Hundreds of gold needles found in woman’s knees A 65-year-old South Korean was discovered to have hundreds of tiny gold needles in her knees. The needles were intentionally embedded in her knees for continued stimulation as part of her acupuncture treatment, for her chronic osteoarthritis. She approached the alternative treatment after pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs not only failed to alleviate her pain, but instead caused stomach discomfort. Ali Guermazi, professor of radiology at Boston University who was not involved in this case, recommends against leaving anything inside the body for multiple reasons. Chiefly, the concern is that foreign objects left inside the body can lead to inflammation, abscesses and infection. Additionally, they can hinder an X-ray reading, and the patient would not be able to undergo MRI due to the nature of imaging. Not only so, such foreign objects may puncture blood vessels, result in inflammation, and fibrous tissue may form around the object. 5. Rare bone disease as a result of dust spray abuse A 28-year-old man from New England developed skeletal fluorosis, a rare form of bone disease. Doctors initially suspected that this was a result of excessive levels of fluoride in his drinking water, but tests revealed the levels had been normal. Upon analysis of past cases, it was then revealed that the root cause was due to the abuse of dust sprays, which contain difluoroethane. Excessive consumption can lead to the formation of crystal deposits on bone. Such negative effects are reversible, but only after stopping the consumption of excessive fluoride, and still, would take many years. He sought medical assistance after experiencing hip pain, difficulty walking, trouble moving his right arm and wrist, and enlargement of the bones in his hands for two years. Additionally, his posture was stooped, walking with his torso titled to the left and with limited mobility in his hip joint, and with "bony masses" on all of his fingers. The bones in his spine, neck and hips were also denser than normal. 6. Rare infection from birds A 61-year old bird enthusiast in England landed in hospital with a serious infection after feeling sick for about a week before seeking medical help. When in hospital, he was found to be suffering from respiratory failure, fever, breathlessness, and mild forgetfulness. Additionally, he suffered a seizure during his stay at the hospital. It was later found that he suffered from psittacosis – a type of pneumonia also called "parrot fever” - after one of his birds passed on. Fatal if untreated, he was lucky that doxycycline successfully cured him. Source
