According to information from the hospital, patient T.H.M. Q. (5 years old, Quang Ngai province) was brought to the medical facility in a state of severe abdominal pain after breakfast, accompanied by signs of fatigue, pale lips and bloating. X-ray results at the clinic initially detected a contrasting foreign object in the abdominal cavity.
When asked in detail by his family, the child said that he had swallowed a section of metal magnets about 4x4 mm in size from the previous afternoon but did not remember the exact number. Immediately after that, the patient was transferred to the City Children's Hospital for intensive treatment.
At the time of admission, the child was still awake, without fever, no vomiting, and vital signs were stable. However, abdominal X-rays continued to record images of optic foreign objects, making it difficult to determine the specific number.
After consultation between gastroenterology, General Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging specialists, doctors determined that it is likely that the child swallowed many magnets and these magnets were sucking and sticking together in the intestines. This is a situation with the risk of causing serious damage to the digestive tract, so the patient was indicated for emergency surgery to remove the foreign object.
The surgery went smoothly, all the magnets were safely removed. After monitoring and treatment, the patient's health recovered well and he was discharged from the hospital.
Doctors said that, unlike many common foreign objects that can be self-excreted through the digestive tract, magnets pose a particularly dangerous risk. If children swallow two or more magnets or swallow magnets with other metal foreign objects, the attraction between objects can clamp the intestinal wall, reducing blood flow, causing necrosis, intestinal perforation, intestinal obstruction, digestive leakage and peritonitis. If not detected and treated promptly, children may face life-threatening complications.
To prevent unfortunate accidents, parents need to keep small objects such as magnets, button pins, coins, toy components... out of reach of children. When feeding children fruits with large seeds, it is necessary to remove the seeds before eating; and at the same time train children to eat slowly, chew thoroughly, not to eat while talking or running around. Observing children while playing and eating also plays an important role in helping to detect dangerous situations early, thereby taking children to medical facilities in time if suspected of swallowing foreign objects.
