4-year-old boy swallowed 10 batteries and magnets, causing intestinal perforation

On October 3, information from Soc Trang Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said the unit successfully performed emergency surgery on a 4-year-old boy who suffered multiple intestinal perforations due to swallowing 10 batteries and magnets.

Foreign objects including batteries and magnets were removed from the intestines of a 4-year-old boy.

Accordingly, boy PTH (4 years old, residing in Tran De commune, Can Tho city) was hospitalized with abdominal pain, vomiting, bloating, and signs of severe infection.

Through clinical examination, the baby had signs of peritonitis, paraclinical results detected a foreign body in the digestive tract.

In particular, the baby's cecum had a hole, the foreign object was a battery; the ileal loops were stuck together for a length of about 100cm.

Removing the adhesion, the doctors discovered 5 more intestinal perforations (1 hole had a foreign object suspected to be a fish bone and 4 holes had a battery and magnet), a segment of intestine about 2cm long was infiltrated and necrotic.

The 4-year-old boy's health is progressing well after surgery.

Doctors quickly performed surgery to remove all foreign objects, resect the necrotic intestine, clean and suture the intestinal perforations, drain the cecum to the skin, wash the abdominal cavity and drain Douglas.

The foreign objects removed included: 4 rusty, deformed button batteries; 4 small, cube-shaped magnets; 2 cylindrical magnets and 1 suspected fish bone foreign object. After surgery, the patient was treated and given intensive care, with good post-operative progress and a gradual recovery.

Dr. Chung Tan Dinh, Director of Soc Trang Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, shared that this is one of the complex digestive surgeries on children that the hospital has successfully performed.

Recently, the hospital has continuously received cases of children being hospitalized due to swallowing foreign objects such as hair, fish bones, staples, watch batteries, etc.

Therefore, parents need to pay special attention to their children, helping them stay away from toys, objects, nuts, and small foods.

TUAN QUANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/be-trai-4-tuoi-nuot-10-cuc-pin-va-nam-cham-gay-thung-ruot-post816166.html