A 44-year-old man in Tanzania made a startling medical discovery after seeking treatment for an unusual symptom: his right nipple had begun leaking pus. What doctors uncovered shocked both the patient and medical staff, he had been living with a knife lodged inside his chest for eight years without realizing it.
The man, whose identity has not been made public, was described as otherwise healthy, with no history of chest pain, difficulty breathing, coughing, or fever. According to a case report, his only symptom when he presented to medical professionals was a discharge of foul-smelling pus beneath his right nipple, accompanied by localized swelling and induration, The Sun reports.
His medical history revealed the likely cause. Eight years earlier, the man had been involved in a violent altercation during which he suffered multiple cuts to his chest, back, abdomen, and face. At the time, he received only basic first aid treatment. Due to limited medical resources in the area, he was never referred for further scans or imaging, such as an X-ray, that could have detected the presence of a foreign object. After his wounds healed, he continued with daily life without incident, never suspecting that something far more serious remained inside his body, the National Library of Medicine detailed.
Doctors who examined him during this recent visit ordered an X-ray, which revealed a “retained metallic object” inside his chest. Further imaging confirmed the shocking finding: a knife blade had penetrated through his scapula (shoulder bone) and remained lodged deep within the chest cavity. Around the blade, a significant build-up of pus and necrotic tissue had formed, a sign that his body was beginning to respond to the foreign object after years of relative silence, according to PEOPLE.