Shaare Zedek’s surgeons performed a laparoscopy and removed a ping-pong-sized object that swelled and endangered his life
Emergency room physicians are accustomed to seeing babies and toddlers who have swallowed foreign objects and need emergency treatment – but not teenagers.
“One must be aware of the dangers involved in swallowing a foreign body, especially since it is made of such a flexible material that may disrupt the function of the convoluted abdominal organs.”
Dr. Giora Weiser
Doctors at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center (SZMC) admitted a 14-year-old youth, N., of Shilo in the Binyamin region, who accidentally gulped down a small orange, rubber object attached to the end of a pencil. About a month ago while playing with his friend at school, he grabbed a pencil with the ball and put it in his mouth. It swelled in his stomach into the size of a ping-pong ball, moved to his intestines and clogged them, endangering his life.
Because no inconvenience was caused, N. did not attach much importance to the event. But several days after he swallowed the foreign object, he complained of severe abdominal pain and non-stop vomiting. They contact their family physician who referred them to SZMC’s emergency medicine department headed by Dr. Giora Weiser. His parents took him to the hospital where surgeons suspected a dangerous intestinal obstruction. He was admitted for urgent surgery, at the end of which the surgeons at pulled out the bouncing ball.
Dangers of swallowing objects
“One must be aware of the dangers involved in swallowing a foreign body, especially since it is made of such a flexible material that may disrupt the function of the convoluted abdominal organs,” Weiser said.
Dr. Aner Keinan, a senior pediatric surgeon, treated the youth. the case. Dr. Ofra Carmel of the pediatric surgery department explained that this was a very rare event of such a significant blockage caused by a foreign object in a teenager. The imaging tests did not clearly show what the foreign object was, as it turned inside out. “We did not think it was a tumor, but there was certainly a reasonable suspicion of a secondary obstruction caused by inflammation or a foreign object.”
Within an hour of diagnosis, N. was admitted for urgent surgery, during which a tiny incision two or three centimeters long was made for a laparoscopic (keyhole) approach. ‘Through the small incision in the intestine, they removed a lump of rubber that absorbed fluids and swelled. They closed the gut and informed the parents, who were happy to find out that the cause of the blockage was just a ball of rubber.
A full recovery
He was hospitalized for further supervision in the pediatric surgery department headed by Dr. Yaron Armon for recovery, and after a few days, N. was able to eat without difficulty. He is now at home and expected to recover fully.
Weiser said it was a rare case because time passed between the swallowing incident and symptoms. He urged children of all ages not to put objects in their mouths because of the danger of swallowing foreign objects, especially those made of flexible materials that can disrupt the function of the twisted abdominal organs.