Man has coin removed from nose 53 years after sticking it in nostril as a child

A man has had a coin removed from his nose after more than half a century - having been "too scared" to tell his mum what he'd done.

The 59-year-old Russian was aged six when he wedged the money in his right nostril.

He opted not to tell his “strict” mother about it and then later “forgot”.

The man recently went to hospital complaining he could not breathe at all in his right nostril - and was given a scan.

This showed an unexpected blockage in the nasal passage.

The surgery was carried out after the man had trouble breathing (City Clinical Hospital named after M. Konchalovsky)

Rhinoliths - stones in the nasal cavity - had formed around the coin, officially worth around one penny at the time.

Medics carried out endoscopic surgery under general anaesthetic removing the stones and retrieving the Soviet one kopek coin from his nose after 53 years.

The money ceased to be used in Russia after the USSR’s collapse in 1991.

Surgeons in Russia carried out the procedure (City Clinical Hospital named after M. Konchalovsky)

The hammer and sickle emblem was no longer visible on the coin.

Specialist otorhinolaryngologist Elena Nepryakhina said: “We operated on Friday and he was discharged on Monday…

“He has regained full nasal breathing.”