On June 15, Quang Nam Northern mountainous Regional General Hospital confirmed to Lao Dong reporters that the unit had just successfully performed an endoscopic removal of a dangerous foreign object in the digestive tract for patient D. V. T, born in 1959, residing in Thu Bon commune, Da Nang city.
Previously, Mr. T. was admitted to the hospital in a state of epigastric pain lasting 3 days. Initially, the patient thought he had stomach pain, so he bought medicine to take at home. However, the pain did not subside but became increasingly severe, forcing him to go to the hospital for examination.
Through gastrointestinal endoscopy, doctors discovered a bamboo toothpick about 5cm long, pointed at both ends, piercing the D2 segment of the duodenum. The location where the foreign object penetrated had accumulated pus, accompanied by many ulcers with pseudomembranes around.
Recognizing this as a dangerous case, if intervention is delayed, it could lead to gastrointestinal perforation, abdominal infection, and life-threatening, the team of the Endoscopy Department, Department of Gastroenterology quickly proceeded to remove the foreign object safely.
After removing the bamboo toothpick from the duodenum, doctors continued to clip 2 clips at the punctured location to protect the duodenum and limit the risk of complications.
After the procedure, the patient's pain subsided, her health stabilized and she was discharged from the hospital, continuing outpatient treatment according to the doctor's instructions.
Patient T. said that he has a habit of picking his teeth and sucking toothpicks after eating and sucking toothpicks many times even while sleeping, leading to accidentally swallowing a bamboo toothpick into his stomach, without knowing it.
According to doctors, holding toothpicks is a common habit but contains many risks. Sharp foreign objects such as bamboo toothpicks, if they fall into the digestive tract, can cause scratches, ulcers, intestinal perforation, stomach or duodenal perforation. In cases where foreign objects fall into the airway, the risk is even more serious, can cause suffocation, respiratory failure and directly threaten life.
