4 year old girl has intestinal obstruction after eating cotton ball from teddy bear

The child was hospitalized due to acute abdominal pain, bloating, and fever. The doctor discovered that 40 cm of small intestine contained cotton.

Dr. Nguyen Do Trong, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery - Pediatric Surgery, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, today (June 23), said that the child came to the clinic in a state of constant crying. Through examination and performing paraclinical tests, the doctor discovered a lot of foreign objects in the child's small intestine, causing intestinal obstruction, the stomach and the first part of the small intestine were very dilated. In 1.5 hours, the surgical team removed dozens of cotton rolls that were crowded and congested in the small intestine.

"The cotton balls filled a 500 ml bowl, proving that the baby had swallowed it a long time ago and could not digest it, causing intestinal obstruction. Abdominal fluid had accumulated, and the stomach and first part of the small intestine were dilated," said Dr. Trong.

The amount of cotton removed from the intestines of a 4-year-old girl. Photo: Hoang Chuong

Two days before, the baby showed signs of loss of appetite, no bowel movements, and vomiting, so the family thought it was a digestive disorder. On the afternoon of June 20, the baby had a fever and cried constantly, so they took him to the emergency room.

Relatives said that when the child went to kindergarten, the family sent a small teddy bear to hug during naps. After the child went to the emergency room, the family checked and found that the teddy bear had a tear and was missing half of its stuffing.

"At home, my child watches TV and uses his phone and likes eating videos , especially the cotton candy eating scene. Even though the classroom has a camera, he covers himself with a blanket when sleeping so no one can see that he ate the cotton candy," said Tuong Khanh (child's mother).

According to Dr. Trong, small intestinal obstruction is not uncommon in children. The cause may be worms, undigested food residue; recently, foreign objects such as magnetic toys have been encountered, etc. However, the case of a child taking cotton from a teddy bear to eat is quite rare. If surgery is not performed promptly, the child is at risk of water-electrolyte disorders, intestinal perforation, peritonitis, septic shock - poisoning leading to death.

The patient's teddy bear with half the amount of cotton. Photo: Hoang Chuong

It is likely that children eat cotton balls due to lack of awareness, influenced by eating videos on social networks. Some cases are related to psychology, Rapunzel syndrome, or Pica syndrome. Rapunzel syndrome is often found in girls who like to eat hair; Pica syndrome is related to cravings for non-food items such as clothes, wool, hair, small metal objects. These are eating disorders that can occur in children with autism or psychological problems.

Dr. Trong advises that children with intestinal obstruction in the early stages are often difficult to identify because they are easily confused with constipation or common digestive disorders. The intestine above the blockage will become distended and stretched, increasing pressure in the intestine, causing venous stasis and reduced capillary perfusion, causing intestinal mucosa to be damaged, edematous, congested, leading to reduced and lost absorption. In addition, children vomit a lot, causing dehydration and electrolyte imbalance in the body.

The first sign is abdominal pain. The child has sudden, severe and increasing pain, fussiness; vomiting or nausea accompanied by bloating.

To prevent intestinal obstruction in children, parents need to teach their children what foods can and cannot be eaten. When children show signs related to the digestive tract as above, parents need to take them to see a doctor.

Tue Diem

With a team of experienced doctors and nurses, applying advanced techniques in diagnosis and treatment, the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery - Pediatric Surgery, Tam Anh General Hospital, successfully treats congenital diseases such as: congenital heart disease, chest pathology such as pectus excavatum, pectus prolapse, diaphragmatic hernia, congenital pulmonary cystic disease, inguinal canal pathology in children (inguinal hernia in boys - girls, hydrocele, cryptorchidism), phimosis in children, penile curvature, scrotal skin adhesion, labia minora hypertrophy, urethral mucosal prolapse in girls, extra flesh next to the anus, extra fingers, ankle calluses, thyroglossal cysts, lymph nodes in the armpit, neck, behind the shoulder after tuberculosis vaccination, mucous cysts of the lower lip, preauricular fistula, congenital fistula in the neck - chest area, trigger finger, synovial cyst in the popliteal fossa, popliteal fossa, wrist, hemangioma, soft tissue cyst, sebaceous cyst, soft tissue tumors... Children are treated with minimally invasive methods, quick recovery, reduced risk complications

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