Hallazgo fortuito de mercurio en el apéndice de una paciente con cáncer de ovario, residente de la Sierra peruana.

Calderón-de la Cruz, Carlos Antonio; López-Córdova, Gabriela; Millones-Sánchez, Emanuel

Mercury, an element widely used by man occurs in different chemical states, one of them is elemental mercury used in ancient medical practice. It is still used by some people who maintain the belief of its effectiveness for abdominal discomfort. We present the case of a 46-year-old woman, who was urgently transferred to a National Hospital due to a constant abdominal discomfort, a hysterosalpingectomy and appendectomy were performed. She was diagnosed with ovarian malignancy and incidentally, elemental mercury retention was found within the appendix. The history showed that the patient had ingested this substance to calm the abdominal discomfort she was presenting before her diagnosis of cancer.

PUBLIC hospitals; MERCURY poisoning; MEDICAL practice; CANCER diagnosis; DIAGNOSIS; MERCURY (Element)

Patologia Revista Latinoamericana, 2021, Vol 59, p1

0185-4305

Academic Journal

10.24245/patrl.v59id.4996