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

A chicken bone pierced the esophagus, causing C. pain - Photo: Hospital provided.

On June 17th, the leadership of Quang Ngai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital announced that the child who had a chicken bone lodged in the esophagus, causing swelling, had had the foreign object safely removed by doctors and was in stable condition.

Accordingly, the parents of PYC (Tinh Phong commune, Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai province) discovered that their child had difficulty eating and drinking, experiencing pain and excessive drooling each time he swallowed.

Noticing something unusual, the family took C. to the hospital for treatment. After examination and X-rays, C. was transferred to the pediatric gastroenterology department for admission and monitoring.

Seeing that the child's pain was not subsiding, the doctor ordered an ultrasound of the neck and chest area and discovered a foreign object piercing the esophageal wall, causing esophageal edema. This was the reason the child was experiencing 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 a gastrointestinal endoscopy to remove the object. After 30 minutes, the object was removed. Only then did the family learn that it was a piece of chicken bone.

The child's health gradually improved; he became alert, the pain subsided, and he ate and drank normally.

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

Dr. Nguyen Thi My Le, head of the pediatric gastroenterology department at Quang Ngai Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, said this was the fourth case of removing a foreign object from the digestive tract at the hospital since the beginning of the year.

This case was far more dangerous than the previous three because the patient was very young, had delayed psychomotor development, and the family only brought the child to the hospital three days after the bone got stuck in the throat. Furthermore, the sharp chicken bone had pierced the esophageal wall, easily causing esophageal perforation.

Doctor Le advises: "Parents need to pay attention to their children's eating habits, be more careful when preparing food, and carefully check bones before giving them to children. If any unusual signs are detected, such as difficulty breathing, difficulty eating, frequent vomiting, etc., 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