On May 22nd, Xuyen A General Hospital in Vinh Long announced that it had successfully performed emergency endoscopic surgery, saving the life of patient NTD (104 years old, residing in Vinh Long) who had a foreign object perforating her digestive tract.
According to family members, about 5 days before being hospitalized, Mr. D. began experiencing persistent, dull abdominal pain around the navel. Despite taking medication, his condition did not improve.
The family had previously taken the elderly woman to a local medical facility for examination, but the ultrasound results did not detect any abnormalities, so she was sent home for monitoring. When the pain persisted, along with poor appetite, the family decided to transfer her to a hospital.
The surgical team performed the operation on a 104-year-old woman whose intestine was punctured by a 2cm piece of wood. Photo: Provided by the hospital.
Here, through clinical examination combined with a 160-slice abdominal MSCT scan, doctors discovered a radiopaque foreign body approximately 2cm long penetrating the wall of the small intestine. Inflammation and localized fluid accumulation were present around the site of the injury. The patient was immediately scheduled for surgery to remove the foreign body.
Faced with a complex case involving a 104-year-old patient, and the high risk of complications related to anesthesia and surgery, the hospital immediately organized a multidisciplinary consultation. Doctors from the General Surgery, Cardiology, Respiratory, and Anesthesia and Resuscitation departments jointly assessed the patient's overall condition and optimized vital signs to ensure absolute safety before surgery.
To minimize trauma to the elderly woman, the team decided to use a minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical method with three extremely small incisions, each only about 0.5 cm long.
Dr. Le Tong Ba, Deputy Head of the General Surgery Department and the surgeon who directly performed the operation, shared that during the exploration, the team observed a sharp foreign object piercing through the wall of the small intestine, with pus already present in the surrounding area. The doctors quickly removed the foreign object, sutured the perforation, and thoroughly cleaned the abdominal cavity to minimize the risk of infection spreading.
The surgery was successful and lasted approximately 30 minutes. Thanks to timely intervention, the patient recovered well, was alert, had stable vital signs, experienced a significant reduction in abdominal pain, and was discharged after only two days of monitoring.
A 2cm piece of wood pierced the intestines of a 104-year-old woman. (Photo: Provided by the hospital)
Dr. Le Tong Ba warns that sharp foreign objects, when accidentally swallowed into the digestive tract, can get stuck and cause damage anywhere from the esophagus to the large intestine. "Small items like fish bones, toothpicks, betel nut sticks... are very dangerous because they can easily pierce the wall of the digestive tract, causing intestinal perforation, abdominal abscesses, or peritonitis," Dr. Ba emphasized.
Especially in the elderly, pain is often atypical, with initial symptoms being only a dull ache, leading patients and their families to easily underestimate the problem. If not detected and treated promptly, the infection will progress severely, directly threatening life.
Health experts advise people, especially the elderly who have a habit of chewing betel or using bamboo toothpicks, to be cautious in their daily lives. As soon as unusual symptoms appear, such as prolonged abdominal pain, pain that worsens after eating, fever, nausea, or bloating, patients should quickly go to specialized medical facilities for examination and treatment.
Source: https://danviet.vn/manh-go-2cm-dam-thung-ruot-cu-ba-104-tuoi-d1428775.html
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