The patient was H.M.L (born in 2022, living in Dak Lak), about 4 months ago, who fell into a pond near her home. Relatives promptly discovered it and took the child to a local hospital for treatment for 2 months, after which the child was discharged from the hospital.
A month later, baby L. had a high fever, coughed a lot, was hospitalized again at a local hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia within 30 days. After checking the ultrasound, the doctors discovered a strange mass in the abdomen, suspecting a foreign object, so they immediately transferred the baby to Children's Hospital 2.
Dr.CK1 Nguyen Hien - Department of General Surgery, Children's Hospital 2 said: "The child was prescribed a CT scan, the results showed that in the patient's abdomen, there was a 1x16cm foreign object located from the rectum to the liver".
The endoscopy team determined that the foreign object had a sharp impact through the rectum, the small intestine and duodenum were covered with inflammation, making surgery difficult. Doctors performed surgery to peel off the foreign object along the entire intestine, preventing damage to the nervous blood vessels and urethra, limiting damage to other organs.
"After 4 hours of surgery, the doctors took out a 16cm long intact branch. The patient was treated with blood clotting, suturing the wounds and doing temporary antics. The patient's health is currently gradually recovering and is expected to be discharged after 1 week. About 1 month later, the patient will be re-examined and temporarily closed the anus. The child can live normally and leave no sequelae," added Dr. Nguyen Hien.
Doctors say that luckily the foreign object did not crash into large blood vessels, so it did not affect life. In addition, because the patient had inhaled pneumonia, doctors gave him broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat the infection, which accidentally inhibited the infection caused by foreign objects.
According to Dr. Nguyen Hien, foreign objects that penetrate the anorectal area have been recorded in children, often when they play and swim in ponds, lakes, rivers and streams. However, in the case of baby L., there was a very real chance because the branches were long and had been in the baby's belly for quite a while. If foreign objects are left in the abdomen for a long time, they can penetrate the organs in the abdomen, causing severe infection, multiple organ failure, and life-threatening.
Children's Hospital 2 recommends that parents need to supervise when children play, especially during the rainy and stormy season, when trees are prone to fall, to avoid unfortunate accidents. In particular, for people in areas near ponds, rivers and streams, do not let children come near or play in ponds, rivers and streams without adult supervision; do not cross bridges or flooded roads. When domestic accidents occur, relatives need to take the children to the nearest medical facility for timely examination and treatment.
