The Department of Gastroenterology - Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC) has just received a critical emergency case: patient P.P.K. (12 months old, Dong Nai province), was hospitalized in pain and at risk of extravagance after swallowing a 3-cm long plastic needle.
According to the family, while the child was playing, the family discovered the child holding a piece of ice and needle. Every now and then, the relatives tried to hook the foreign object out, but this action accidentally pushed the needle deeper into the throat. The child was then taken to a grassroots hospital, then transferred to Children's Hospital 2 at the 9th hour from the time of the accident.
At the Emergency Department, doctors conducted an emergency examination and endoscopy. The results showed that the iron tree had a shape of an L shape, with a pointed tip stuck to the esophagus wall, causing a risk of perforation, bleeding and severe infection. This is a situation that requires quick, accurate and careful handling to protect the life and health of the child.
Immediately, the interdisciplinary team including Gastroenterology - Ophthalmology - Surgery, Children's Hospital 2 Ho Chi Minh City was mobilized to consult and implement the intervention plan. After meticulous endoscopic treatment, the doctors removed the foreign object without the need for open surgery. Thanks to the smooth coordination between specialties, the emergency care took place safely, and the child was rescued from a dangerous situation.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital 2 said: "Gastrointestinal animals are a common accident in young children, especially during holidays or when children are at home, and are less monitored by adults. Dangerous foreign objects that we often encounter include: shirt button batteries, magnetes, sharp objects, large objects (over 2.5 cm for children under 5 years old and over 5 cm for older children).
According to Dr. Thuy, many cases become more serious due to inappropriate adult behavior. When suspecting that the child is swallowing a foreign object, parents should absolutely not try to remove the throat, because this action can easily cause the foreign object to slide deeper or damage the throat palate. In addition, vomiting is not allowed because of the risk of foreign objects getting lost in the airway, causing strong breathing and endangering life.
The right treatment is to quickly take the child to the nearest medical facility for timely examination and treatment with appropriate methods such as endoscopy or surgery if necessary.
Doctors also recommend that parents pay attention to removing small, sharp, swally-ted objects from children's hands; do not let children play with objects that can be dissolved, easily dropped components and always monitor children, especially during the cattle practice and practice when children tend to explore the world by mouth.
