Navi Mumbai: Foreign object extracted from child's throat without surgery

A 6-year-old girl from Airoli who accidentally swallowed a foreign object was saved in the nick of time after her parents rushed her to hospital. Even as surgery was suggested, the doctors managed to saveher without evena single incision being made.

Araina Gite, a Class I student from Airoli, was playing with a keychain when she threw it up in the air and it fell into her mouth. “My daughter immediately informed me after the incident. She was in pain but showed the presence of mind by telling us immediately and not trying to swallow it further,” Ms Prachi Gite said, adding that Araina was rushed to a paediatrician who asked for an X-Ray and recommended surgery after seeing the reports.

The incident took place around 7.30 pm on Wednesday, and by 11 pm Araina was in the operation theatre of Fortis Hiranandani Hospital in Vashi. “The scan results showed the object's position and depth in the food pipe's upper part. The tricky part was removing the object with minimal invasion or without posing a threat to the child's life. We decided to do an endoscopy. The girl was given general anaesthesia considering the risk.Twominutes into the endoscopy, the foreign object was removed,” Dr Jignesh Gandhi, senior consultant for general surgery, said.

According to Dr Gandhi, the most challenging part was that the foreign body made of ceramic could have been dangerous for Araina's well-being if it had remained stuck in her throat any longer. “Till the time the object was removed, we made sure that she doesn't drink or eat anything. Occasionally, she was given a few drops of water, just enough to wet the throat. My daughter acted bravely and maintained her calm though she had huge discomfort. I am glad thatno incision was required,” Ms Gite said.

Meanwhile, Araina has been put on a soft diet owing to the procedure she underwent and is currently doing well.

Published on: Thursday, December 01, 2022, 08:22 AM IST