Beijing:
An 11-year-old boy in eastern China swallowed a 100-gram gold bar while playing at home, leading to his hospitalisation. The incident, which occurred in early April, required surgery to remove the precious metal from his intestines.
The boy, identified only by his surname Qian, noticed a slight swelling in his stomach but reported no other discomfort. Concerned, his parents took him to a children’s hospital for a check-up. An X-ray revealed the large metallic object lodged in his intestines – it was the gold bar, South China Morning Post reported.
Initially, doctors went for a conservative treatment approach, prescribing medication to induce diarrhoea and hoping the bar would pass naturally. But after two days, a follow-up X-ray showed that the gold bar was still stuck.
Fearing potential intestinal obstruction or perforation, the medical team decided to proceed with surgery.
Rather than making a large incision, the surgeons used an endoscopic procedure to remove the bar. In just 30 minutes, the gold was successfully extracted.
Within 48 hours, the boy was back to eating normally and was discharged from the hospital, fully recovered with no lingering issues.
In 2021, a similar incident occurred in Vietnam when a nine-year-old boy accidentally swallowed small metal screws and a magnet. The objects became tightly packed, causing intestinal obstruction and perforation of the colon and duodenum. Emergency surgery was performed to remove the foreign objects, saving the child’s life.
In 2023, a 17-month-old child in Cuba swallowed a spring from a clothespin, leading to severe breathing difficulties. Doctors performed an exploratory esophagoscopy with a rigid endoscope to remove the spring from the toddler’s airway, successfully treating the child, who was discharged in good condition.
That same year, a two-and-a-half-year-old toddler in Jerusalem swallowed a gold ring, leading to mouth pain. An X-ray revealed the cause, and doctors successfully removed the ring using a rigid endoscope without damaging the esophagus. The toddler was released in good condition.