Closing the skull base fistula for the boy who stuck chopsticks in his nose

Before that, the boy was playing with chopsticks and poked his nose. When his family discovered that he had pulled the chopsticks out and was bleeding, they took him to the medical station for examination. There, he was allowed to go home because the nosebleed had stopped on its own. However, the next day, he had a fever and a stiff neck. The family took him to a nearby hospital for treatment of encephalitis. After 2 weeks, the patient was discharged but the runny nose did not decrease. Worried, the family took him to the Ho Chi Minh City Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital for examination.

At the hospital, the CT scan results showed that the baby had a cerebrospinal fluid leak after the injury. Doctors planned endoscopic surgery through the nose and sinuses to close the leak in the skull base, under the guidance of the IGS navigation system.

Surgeons repair boy's skull base fistula after chopstick stuck in nose

Doctor Hon said the team used the baby's abdominal fat to fill in the damaged area and injected biological glue to reinforce the hole to make it more secure.

"This is a technique that the hospital has implemented over the past 5 years on 32 patients, all of whom are adults, all of whom have been successful. This child is the youngest case. If surgery is not performed promptly, the child will develop a serious infection, recurrent meningitis, brain abscess, which can lead to death... Previously, without this technique, doctors would have to perform open skull surgery, resulting in severe postoperative complications, long hospital stays, and easy sequelae," said Dr. Hon.

The patient is now alert, running around, has no headache, no more runny nose, and is expected to be discharged in the next few days.

Dr. Le Tran Quang Minh, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital, recommends that when a similar accident occurs, parents should not remove foreign objects themselves because they are "stoppers" that help limit bleeding and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. Removing foreign objects on the spot can cause massive bleeding. When encountering a similar situation, it is necessary to stabilize the patient's position and take them to the hospital as soon as possible to detect any skull base injury and treat it early, avoiding meningitis.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/suc-khoe/bit-lo-ro-san-so-cho-be-trai-tu-cam-dua-vao-mui-20231002210657277.htm