71-year-old man perforated his duodenum because of a toothpick in his mouth while sleeping.

Image of a 5cm toothpick in Mr. N's duodenum - Photo: NGUYET ANH

On December 19, information from Nghe An General Hospital 115 said that doctors at this hospital had just performed surgery to remove a foreign object, a toothpick, from the duodenum of a 71-year-old man.

Previously, Mr. NNN - 71 years old, residing in Nghi Phu ward, Vinh city, had symptoms of abdominal pain, localized in the upper abdomen. Due to the increasing pain, with unknown cause, Mr. N. was taken by his family to Nghe An General Hospital 115 for examination.

Endoscopy of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, doctors discovered a foreign object in the duodenum, a bamboo toothpick, one end inserted into the mucosa.

Doctor Lo Thi Lan and the on-duty team removed a foreign object, a 5cm long bamboo toothpick, from the patient's body, treated the injury, and took a sample for pathological testing.

Through the patient's testimony, the doctors determined that the cause was that patient N. had a habit of picking his teeth after eating and then fell asleep, accidentally swallowing the toothpick.

According to Dr. Lan, toothpicks puncture the duodenum and over time cause dangerous abscesses. Sometimes toothpicks puncture in very difficult positions that cannot be removed endoscopically, requiring surgery.

Nghe An General Hospital 115 has also performed emergency surgery on many cases of swallowed foreign objects similar to fish bones, small sticks, etc.

Foreign objects can puncture any location in the digestive tract (esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, colon...) causing inflammation, surrounding abscesses, peritonitis leading to severe infection and life-threatening if not detected promptly.

Doctors advise people to be extremely careful when using toothpicks every day. Do not hold toothpicks in your mouth, especially before going to bed to avoid unfortunate consequences.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cu-ong-71-tuoi-thung-ta-trang-vi-ngam-tam-khi-ngu-20241219103619334.htm