Man in Hai Phong suffers perforated stomach, admits a mistake many Vietnamese make

GĐXH - After examining and ordering an abdominal CT scan, the doctor discovered a bamboo toothpick had penetrated the patient's stomach wall and into the patient's retroperitoneal cavity.

Recently, doctors at Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital said they had received and treated 3 consecutive cases of swallowing bamboo toothpicks.

A typical case is a 73-year-old male patient residing in Tien Lang, Hai Phong who had a habit of holding a toothpick in his mouth after eating. Due to carelessness, while drinking water, the patient accidentally swallowed the toothpick. Afterwards, the patient felt something stuck in his mouth but did not go to the doctor immediately.

Three days later, the patient experienced pain in the epigastric region and was taken to a medical facility for examination. An endoscopy showed a bamboo toothpick stuck deep into the stomach wall.

The patient was transferred to the Department of Gastroenterology. Here, the patient was quickly examined by doctors and ordered an abdominal CT scan, which showed an image of a bamboo toothpick penetrating the stomach wall into the retroperitoneal cavity.

The endoscopy team of the Department of Gastroenterology urgently performed an endoscopy under anesthesia and successfully removed the bamboo toothpick safely, without any complications of peritonitis. The patient was discharged after only 6 days of inpatient treatment with stable health condition.

What should the patient do when accidentally swallowing a foreign object?

- Do not try to swallow other foods in the hope of pushing the foreign object down.

- Do not pick your throat or spit hard, as this can cause the foreign object to get deeper into the digestive tract, causing many dangerous complications such as tearing, perforation, bleeding, etc., increasing the severity of the disease and making it more difficult to remove the foreign object.

- Patients need to go to a medical facility early for timely examination and treatment.

- In particular, patients need to form the habit of not chewing on toothpicks after use to avoid accidentally swallowing them.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/nguoi-dan-ong-o-hai-phong-bi-thung-da-day-thua-nhan-mot-sai-lam-ma-nhieu-nguoi-viet-mac-phai-172241121093409398.htm