Almost had a perforated stomach because of the habit of drinking water while chewing a toothpick

After finishing his meal, NTQ (17 years old, living in Vinh Long ) picked his teeth with a toothpick. While he was drinking water while holding the toothpick in his mouth, he accidentally swallowed it.

On December 5, specialist doctor Nguyen Trong Tuong, Deputy Head of the Endoscopy Department - Xuyen A General Hospital Vinh Long, said that through endoscopy, a foreign object was found in the stomach, 6 cm long, with two sharp ends slightly piercing the stomach wall. The endoscopy team removed the foreign object from the patient's upper digestive tract using specialized tools. The foreign object removed was a bamboo toothpick, the patient was stable and discharged the same day.

Previously, Mr. MVL (29 years old, living in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) had dull epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, and chest heaviness behind the sternum. Feeling that his condition was not improving, Mr. L. went to Xuyen A General Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) for examination.

Bamboo toothpick pierced into 2 stomach walls

Specialist Doctor 2 Truong Ngoc Nha, Head of Endoscopy Department, Xuyen A General Hospital, said that through examination and X-ray, it was suspected that there was a foreign object in Mr. L's abdomen. Doctors performed an endoscopy of the esophagus - stomach - duodenum using a flexible tube and discovered that the foreign object was a bamboo toothpick. One end of the bamboo toothpick was inserted into the wall of the duodenum D2, causing a perforation of the duodenum, creating an abscess measuring 10 - 20 mm in size, with white pus flowing out. Using specialized tools, doctors successfully removed the toothpick measuring about 12 cm in size.

Doctor Truong said that using bamboo toothpicks is a habit of many people, seemingly a very simple and normal thing, but sometimes it contains extremely dangerous dangers. Cases of swallowing sharp foreign objects such as toothpicks, fish bones, etc., if not detected promptly, can lead to serious infections and endanger life. Because sharp foreign objects move in the intestines, they can easily get stuck in the intestinal wall, perforating the intestinal wall, causing many unpredictable complications. In severe cases, the perforation can progress to generalized peritonitis, affecting life or leaving many sequelae later.

"People should not hold toothpicks in their mouths because they may accidentally swallow them. If they accidentally swallow a toothpick, they should quickly go to the hospital for examination, have a gastrointestinal endoscopy to remove the toothpick as soon as possible, or have surgery when indicated," Dr. Truong advised.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/suyt-thung-da-day-vi-thoi-quen-vua-ngam-tam-vua-uong-nuoc-185241205102236819.htm