An 8-month-old boy held a mango in his hand to play with, but accidentally the mango’s stem penetrated deep into his airway, causing him to turn purple and have difficulty breathing. The teams of the two children’s hospitals worked together to remove the foreign object.
On April 28, Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital 2 said that on the night of April 27, the team of doctors from Children’s Hospital 2 and City Children’s Hospital coordinated to remove a foreign object from the airway in an 8-month-old boy. age using a flexible endoscope system.
The child’s family said that while eating rice, the child’s mother gave him a mango to play with. The baby brought it to his mouth and then suddenly coughed and choked continuously, fussing and crying. The baby’s mother held the baby on her shoulder and patted the baby’s back to calm him down. After that, the baby stopped coughing. By morning, the baby had difficulty breathing, had a purple attack and was taken by his family to a lower level hospital. Here, the baby was intubated and transferred to City Children’s Hospital.
The foreign object was a mango stem that was successfully removed by two hospitals in collaboration. Photo: BVCC
The baby had bronchoscopy to remove the foreign object twice, but because the foreign object was located deep in the bronchus, accessing and removing the foreign object was difficult.
After consultation, the leadership of Children’s Hospital 2 sent an endoscopy team including respiratory doctors, ENT doctors along with a bronchoscopy system with a flexible bronchoscope and necessary equipment to support your hospital. . With coordination, the doctors successfully removed the foreign object, which was the stem of the mango. Currently, the baby’s condition is stable and is still being treated and monitored further.
Doctor 2 Le Thi Thanh Thao, Deputy Head of Respiratory Department 1, Children’s Hospital 2, said that foreign objects in the airway are a common dangerous accident in children. In just the past few weeks, Children’s Hospital 2 has received a succession of children who have swallowed pieces of school supplies.
The first is girl N.D (7 years old, living in Binh Duong). While playing at home, she bit off the eraser tip on a pen and accidentally swallowed it. After swallowing D. Choking, coughing a lot, not vomiting, with stomach pain. Family members observed that the child had increasing difficulty breathing and swelling in the neck and face area and took him to the provincial hospital for examination.
The patient continued to be transferred to Children’s Hospital 2, where he was diagnosed with a foreign body in the airway, pneumothorax, and pneumomediastinum. Immediately, the baby had a bronchoscopy to remove the foreign object and an air tube was placed. After nearly a week of treatment, he was stable.
A 7-year-old boy (living in Binh Thuan), playing with his friends, bit the tip of a ballpoint pen to get the tip. Because of choking, the child became hoarse and had difficulty breathing. The school took him to the nearest medical facility, then transferred him here.
Admitted to the hospital, the patient was urgently given an endoscopy by the doctors. Because the glottis is damaged and swollen, accessing and removing the foreign object is very difficult. The foreign object was successfully removed, the baby is out of danger, and is still being monitored.
Despite constant propaganda and warnings, every year, Children’s Hospital 2 still receives many cases of foreign bodies in the airways. Most babies are hospitalized in emergency situations, and some cases can become severe, especially at risk of life-threatening.
Therefore, the hospital continues to recommend limiting the use of small objects for children under 3 years old. For older children, families and schools regularly educate and remind them to limit playing with school tools and small objects and not put them in their mouths to avoid the risk of choking. When a child shows signs of choking on a foreign object, after performing first aid steps, it is necessary to take the child to a medical facility for timely examination and treatment.