The “cat in the throat” that led a 52-year-old Austrian to consult several times, was in reality…. hairs growing in his windpipe. This is a rare complication stemming from his cigarette addiction, doctors say
His case was the subject of an article in the scientific journal American Journal of Case Report from June 18, 2024.
Tobacco and autograft: 6 to 9 hairs of 5 cm in the throat
The Austrian, whose identity has not been revealed, first consulted doctors in 2007 for chronic hoarseness and cough, as well as nighttime breathing difficulties and annoying snoring. He also told professionals that he had coughed up a 5 cm long hair. He also admitted that he smoked and that his consumption was up to a pack a day.
Faced with these symptoms, the medical team decided to examine his respiratory tract with a small camera. It revealed the presence of significant inflammation and the presence of several hairs. While trying to understand why they were growing in his throat, doctors learned that the patient had undergone a tracheotomy at age 10, after nearly drowning. His doctors at the time closed the wound using an autograft of skin and cartilage taken from his ear.
To put an end to the problems that the man – then aged 35 – was experiencing, health professionals simply pulled out the hairs present and prescribed an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic treatment.
“However, hair growth in the transplant area persisted,” the doctors state in their article. The patient continued to return to the hospital every year with the same symptoms for 17 years. On several occasions, the doctors removed between “6 to 9 endotracheal hairs with a maximum length of 5 cm”.
“The hairs grew in a proximal direction, sometimes beyond the vocal cords, reaching the oral cavity”indicate the authors.
This recurring disorder ended in 2022 after the use of argon plasma coagulation, a technique which consists of burning hair cells, and “after stopping smoking”.
Hairs in the throat: tobacco could be the cause
Endotracheal hair growth is a very rare complication of tracheal restructuring by autograft. Why did this patient experience so many “recurrences”? For doctors, the explanation could be found in the patient’s smoking.
“Cigarette smoke has the ability to alter signaling pathways in respiratory epithelial cells that are simultaneously linked to hair follicle proliferation. Therefore, smoking cessation is probably crucial in such cases of patients receiving skin/cartilage grafts in the respiratory system”explain the doctors.
