Advertisement

Docs Discover Sprouting Pea In Mass. Man's Lung

Doctors say they have found a pea sprouting in the lung of a 75-year-old Massachusetts man.

Doctors feared the worst when they studied Ron Sveden's X-rays and spotted a small dark spot.

The former teacher had worked for years smoking fish and had already had emphysema before he felt his health take a turn for the worse this summer.

By the time Sveden reached the hospital, he had a collapsed left lung and pneumonia. Two biopsies came back negative for lung cancer.

Feeding a scope down Sveden's throat, Dr. Jeff Spillane scraped away at an encrusted mass and discovered a sprout. Spillane says Sveden apparently inhaled a pea that took root in his lung.

Spillane removed it, and Sveden's health has returned.

This program aired on August 12, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close