After a hearty meal, Ashok Lakshman, a 10-year-old boy from a village in Tamil Nadu, tried to remove the food stuck between his teeth. But instead of a toothpick, the naive boy used an iron nail, and during the cleaning-up process, he accidentally swallowed the sharp object. Fearing his parents’ wrath, the boy kept the incident to himself. Months later, complications arose. He suffered breathing problems, congestion, persistent cough and irritation, and the local doctors were not able to help.
Lakshman was brought to the city and admitted to Rajarajeshwari Medical College and Hospital. A chest X-ray revealed that an iron nail was stuck at the lower part of his air pipe, just behind the heart.
“The case was complicated since a 2.5 cm long iron nail was stuck in his air pipe for six months. In these six months, the nail became quite deep-rooted with nerve and tissue growth forming around it,” said Dr Vishal Rao, assistant professor, head and neck surgeon, department of ENT, Rajarajeshwari Medical College and Hospital.
The doctors initially decided on an open heart surgery. “As we tried a bronchoscopic procedure on him, the nail slowly loosened up and we could pull it out,” added Dr Rao. Luckily, Lakshman did not require an open surgery. A medical check-up after the surgery revealed that the boy was out of danger.
Lakshman has now recovered and the boy is back home and is attending school.
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