Ernakulam: In a rare medical case, doctors at Rajagiri Hospital in Aluva successfully removed a fishbone from the liver of a 36-year-old college teacher.

The patient had initially visited the hospital with a persistent cough and fever. Following an evaluation by Dr Shalini Baby James of the General Medicine Department, a PET scan was advised.

Further examinations by Dr Vijay Harish Somasundaram and Dr Vinayak from the Nuclear Medicine Department revealed both pus formation and a fishbone lodged in the liver. Gastro surgeon Dr Joseph George later performed the surgery to extract the fishbone.

According to the medical team, the patient had accidentally swallowed the bone while eating. It remained in the intestine for nearly two weeks before penetrating the liver and becoming trapped there after an infection developed.