Yes, you read that right ! This definitely unusual story takes place in Denmark. A 59-year-old man suffers from nasal congestion: his nostril is blocked, he no longer feels anything. For two years (!) He tried to self-medicate, probably thinking he was suffering from a particularly tough chronic nasopharyngitis …
Until the day when, finally, he went to the Aarhus University Hospital (in Denmark), to the otolaryngology department. On the spot, the doctors made him undergo examinations: a CT scan of the sinuses then revealed the presence of a “ball” in the nasal cavity. The mass measures 13 mm by 6 mm and is covered with mucous membrane: doctors therefore diagnose a benign dermoid cyst.
A strange phenomenon that affects up to 1% of the population
The cyst is removed through endoscopic surgery under general anesthesia. And there, surprise: under the nasal mucosa, the doctors discovered … a tooth. Impossible ? Not really: according to the authors of the report (because the case was the subject of an article published on February 21, 2019 in the specialized journal BMJ Case Reports), the growth of a tooth in the nostril is a rare but possible phenomenon, which occurs in 0.1% to 1% of the population and which affects men more often than women.
How to explain this strange phenomenon? If the authors of the report put forward several possibilities (an infectious disease, a trauma affecting the mouth or the nose, a malformation of the cleft lip or palate …), for this specific case, “no obvious explanation could be put forward. “. They point out all the same that this kind of situation remains “extremely rare”.
Good news: one month after his operation, the patient is in good health … and can now breathe with both nostrils. Phew!
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