Doctors save toddler who swallowed metal pendant while playing

Foreign body lodged in the vestibule of the esophagus

A gold pendant in the form of a heart was removed from the esophagus of a two-year-old baby by metropolitan doctors. The boy played with the decoration and accidentally swallowed it.

As “MK” found out, the other day to the children’s hospital No. 9 named after. Speransky was hospitalized with a two-year-old child who swallowed a gold pendant in front of his parents. According to adults, the son calmly played with the jewelry, but at some point he suddenly decided to put it in his mouth. Accessory quickly slipped into the body. After such a meal, the baby began to salivate and vomit. Parents did not hesitate and called an ambulance.

At the hospital, doctors determined that the object was stuck in the upper third of the esophagus. This is dangerous because it is in this part of the esophagus, in the upper constriction, that foreign bodies get stuck and do not pass further. If you do not get the object in time, then its long stay inside the organ can lead to inflammatory changes, damage to the wall, as well as narrowing of the lumen of the esophagus. All of the above can lead to disability and lengthy surgical treatment.

In this case, the baby was lucky that the parents were nearby, they noticed the emergency in time and immediately turned to specialists. During direct laryngoscopy, surgeons of the clinic examined the oral cavity, saw a shiny object in the vestibule of the esophagus and removed it with special endoscopic forceps. The whole procedure took several minutes. Fortunately, the little patient did not show severe mucosal damage.

After getting rid of the pendant, the boy only needed to observe the temperature regime of food: hot dishes and drinks were banned. On the second day he was discharged home.

Experts remind parents that with a child you need to remember the rule of “arm’s length”. It is at this distance that children under 5 years old should be next to mom and dad: then, if necessary, adults will be able to immediately come to the aid of the child.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28962 dated February 1, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Toddler swallowed a heart while playing