Kolkata Dec 7 (IANS) Safiqul Mondal had given up hope that his nine-year-old son will ever be able to lead a normal life after the child accidentally swallowed a pen cover. But doctors of a private hospital here have brought smiles back on Safiqul's face by removing the 'foreign element' stuck in the child's lungs.

Imran, the second child of Safiqul, was suffering from cough and cold since Oct 10. On Oct 17, while playing with the pen close to his nose, Imran suddenly sneezed and the cover disappeared into his throat.

Imran began crying and told his parents about the accident. They rushed him to a local doctor who advised an X-ray but it was of no help as the pen cover was not detected.

'After Imran swallowed the cover, cough and cold became his constant companion. He used to turn blue while coughing,' Safiqul told IANS.

Safiqul then brought his only son to a leading private hospital of Kolkata, where a team of doctors lead by pulmonologist Ranjan Das observed Imran closely and conducted a CT scan which located the position of the pen cover.

The doctors then operated on Imran by using a flexible fibre optic bronchoscope to bring out the 'foreign element'.

'This could have been deadly had the cover remained stuck in the lungs for a few more days. But by god's grace the operation has been successful. The child will lead a normal life as he used to,' said Das. The surgical procedure was done with local anaesthesia.

Imran has been discharged from the hospital and he is back home with his parents.