Manila | A Filipino surgeon made a curious discovery while operating on one of his patient’s kidneys when he fell upon what appears to be man-made pearls.
The 54-year old patient who reportedly undertook surgery of his left kidney surprised surgeons when they found a dozen small pearls, weighting an impressive 1.3 ounces, inside his kidney.
The unusual discovery of pearls in a human body are the first occurrence of such a happening in medical history, a fact many experts find hard to believe.
A dozen small uneven featured pearls were found in the patient’s kidney
“If I had not seen this with my own eyes, I would’ve never believed this” comments surgeon Ken Guamatarez laughingly, who participated in the 5 hour long operation.
If the discovery has aroused much curiosity in the scientific community, no true conclusion has yet been made about how such a transformation within the human body could occur.
“Pearls are commonly known to be a by-product of an adaptive immune system-like function” explains biologist Mike G. Ward from Berkeley University. “Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside the shell, or an attack from outside, injuring the mantle tissue” he adds. “It is very peculiar to find this occurring in a human body, I find this truly mind-bogling” admits the expert.
The patient, who has decided to donate his kidney’s pearls to the local University, hopes further studies will help to shed some light upon this fascinating discovery.
SOURCE