Man’s Suspected Lung Tumor Turns Out To Be A Toy He Inhaled 40 Years Ago

#1 Paul Baxter was Coughing up yellow mucus and generally feeling unwell.

Finally, the 47-year-old from the UK went to a clinic — and got the surprise of his life.

#2 Doctors feared that 47-year-old Baxter, a smoker, had cancer.

An X-ray showed what looked like a tumor.So he went to a local clinic – and the “tumor” turned out to be a toy Playmobil traffic cone he had inhaled at age 7.

#3 He inhaled this tiny toy piece and it was stuck in his lung’s air passage for 40 years.

"Following the procedure, the patient reported that he regularly played with and even swallowed pieces of Playmobil during his childhood," the team writes in the case study.

"He recalled being given this Playmobil set for his seventh birthday and believes he aspirated the toy traffic cone soon after."

#4 The man was then diagnosed with tracheobronchial foreign body (TFB) aspiration instead of lung cancer.

#5 Doctors said it was a unique case and information of the incident were detailed in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

#6 Only four cases in history saw symptoms take more than 20 years to develop, according to CBS News.

#7 Four months after the extraction procedure, doctors have reported that the patient’s cough had “almost entirely settled.”

#8 They said:

“On a positive note, his symptoms improved markedly and he finally found his long-lost Playmobil traffic cone in the very last place he would look.”

#9 According to the BBC,

Doctors believe that because the patient was so young, his lung may have been able to remold itself and adapt to the presence of the foreign body.

#10 Meanwhile, Baxter told the Evening News that he plans to keep the cone as a memento and pass it onto his grandchildren.

However, he said, he plans to keep a close eye on them.