Using phone while eating, man hospitalized due to complicated bone stuck in throat

(Dan Tri) - A man in Hanoi had a 4.5cm long fish bone stuck deep in his throat after eating while talking on the phone.

The Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases has just received and successfully treated a case of a man choking on a foreign object, a 4.5cm long fish bone, deeply lodged in his throat.

Patient NVP (60 years old, living in Hanoi ) was hospitalized with a sore throat and painful swallowing after eating fish.

He said that while eating and talking on the phone, he suddenly got a fish bone stuck in his throat. Immediately after that, he stopped eating and tried sucking on a vitamin C tablet following a folk remedy in the hope that the bone would go down, but the condition did not improve and the pain gradually increased, especially when swallowing saliva.

A male patient has a fish bone removed at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Photo: Provided by the hospital).

At the Center for On-Demand and International Medical Examination and Treatment, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Dr. Trinh Thuy Lien (ENT specialist) performed a laryngoscopy and discovered a 4.5cm long, sharp fish bone lying horizontally in the left hypopharynx, embedded more than 1cm deep into the posterior wall.

This is the deepest position in the throat, close to the base of the tongue, where it is easy to cause a strong gag reflex, making it difficult to remove the foreign object.

In particular, the bone fragment lies horizontally along the anterior-posterior axis. If pulled straight out, it will easily tear the mucosa or get stuck at the base of the tongue.

With such deeply embedded foreign objects, the doctor must first release the bone head that is "deeply embedded" in the throat wall, then pull it out in a front-back direction to minimize damage.

Thanks to the patient not having previously coughed or picked his throat, the endoscopy team successfully removed the foreign object without anesthesia. After the intervention, the patient was stable and instructed to monitor for late complications and care for the mucosa.

According to Dr. Lien, fish bones are a common foreign object in the upper digestive tract. Initially, they may only cause a feeling of obstruction, pain or discomfort, but the danger lies in the fact that fish bones are mobile.

That is, during the swallowing process or when applying folk remedies, foreign objects can penetrate deeper or penetrate the digestive tract wall, moving to neighboring areas such as the floor of the mouth, neck, skin or thyroid gland.

On the way of "migration", they can cause a series of dangerous injuries such as infections, neck abscesses, mediastinal abscesses, pleural effusion, pneumonia, and even damage to large blood vessels in the neck, especially the carotid artery.

Not only sharp and mobile, fish bones are also organic foreign objects, mainly composed of protein, collagen and calcium.

When trapped in the body, especially in the warm and moist environment of the digestive tract, they can gradually decompose. This process carries the risk of bacteria penetrating deep into the tissue, causing severe inflammation, forming abscesses, pus accumulation and spreading rapidly to the deep neck or mediastinal cavities.

If the abscess ruptures or the inflammation spreads, the patient may fall into a critical, life-threatening condition.

Dr. Lien recommends that if you suspect a fish bone is stuck in your throat, you should immediately go to a specialist facility for endoscopy to determine and promptly remove the foreign object.

People absolutely should not apply folk remedies such as: swallowing rice, swallowing bananas, sucking vitamin C pills or sticking their own throat, because these actions can easily cause the bone to be stuck deeper or move to dangerous positions.

To prevent this, during meals, everyone should concentrate, not talk or do other things while eating, chew thoroughly and filter bones carefully.

This is especially important for the elderly or those with poor swallowing reflexes.

Dr. Lien emphasized: “Fish bones are both sharp and easily cause infection. Early and proper treatment is the key to preventing serious complications. Any home 'trick' has the potential to make the condition more complicated and dangerous."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/dung-dien-thoai-khi-an-nguoi-dan-ong-nhap-vien-vi-hoc-xuong-phuc-tap-20250808151006527.htm