Child choked on chicken bone that penetrated esophagus wall and was not discovered until 3 days later

A piece of chicken bone pierced the esophagus, causing pain to child C. - Photo: BVCC

On June 17, the leader of Quang Ngai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said that the baby who had a chicken bone stuck in his throat and pierced the esophagus, causing edema, had the foreign object safely removed by doctors and his health was stable again.

Accordingly, the parents of PYC (Tinh Phong commune, Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai) discovered that their child had difficulty eating and drinking. Every time he swallowed, he felt pain and drooled a lot.

Seeing something unusual, the family took C. to the hospital for treatment. After examination and X-ray, C. was transferred to the pediatric gastroenterology department for hospitalization and monitoring.

Seeing that the child’s pain did not improve, the doctor ordered an ultrasound of the neck and chest area and discovered a foreign object penetrating the esophagus wall, causing esophageal edema. This was the cause of the child’s pain when swallowing food and excessive salivation.

After examining the child's condition, the foreign object was located in the cervical esophagus. The doctor performed an endoscopy to remove the foreign object. After 30 minutes, the foreign object was removed. Only then did the family realize it was a piece of chicken bone.

The baby's health then gradually stabilized, he was alert, the pain went away, and he ate and drank normally.

The patient's family said that before being admitted to the hospital, C. had eaten chicken porridge and since then, the child felt uncomfortable and had difficulty eating, so the family took him to the hospital for examination.

Doctor Nguyen Thi My Le - in charge of the pediatric gastroenterology department of Quang Ngai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital - said this is the fourth case of removing a digestive foreign body since the beginning of the year at the hospital.

This case is much more dangerous than the previous three cases because the patient is young, has slow mental and motor development, and it took three days for the family to take him to the hospital after choking on a bone. Furthermore, the sharp piece of chicken bone pierced the esophagus, easily causing a perforation.

Doctor Le recommends: "Parents need to pay attention to their children's diet, be more careful when preparing food and carefully examine bones before feeding them. When detecting unusual signs, such as difficulty breathing, difficulty eating, frequent vomiting... immediately take your child to the hospital for examination and timely treatment."

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tre-hoc-xuong-ga-dam-xuyen-thanh-thuc-quan-3-ngay-moi-phat-hien-2024061716384792.htm