BENGALURU: An 18-month-old girl was rushed to the Rainbow Children’s Hospital emergency ward on Wednesday when she accidentally swallowed a large metallic hairpin with sharp ends. Following a challenging 45-minute endoscopy, doctors could save the child without intestine or stomach perforation. Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Dr Arun Garg, found on X-ray examination that the hairpin was lodged in her stomach horizontally.

Dr Garg said that the 6-7 cm long pin was quite big for such a young child. She was brought to the hospital within half an hour of swallowing the pin. There was an impending risk of stomach rupture. Dr Garg decided to perform upper endoscopy despite the high risk of perforation. He mentioned that it was challenging as the pin kept falling from the grasp of the forceps. It had to be taken out through the esophagus without rupturing the tube.

The doctor said that the girl was fortunate as they would have had to conduct a surgery if there would have been a rupture due to the pin. If there would have been a delay in bringing her to the hospital, they would have had to cut open her stomach and remove the pin surgically.

Neeraj Lal, Vice President and Cluster Head of Bengaluru and Karnataka region, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, said that it was a miracle that the child was saved. Any rupture would have caused major blood loss, which can be faster in younger children. The internal bleeding could have led to death if she was not brought to the hospital immediately, he said.

Lal further mentioned that a plastic hairpin would have been less dangerous. A metallic one has sharper edges, thus increasing the risk. Parents and caretakers must ensure that children do not have access to objects that can be swallowed easily. If they swallow any foreign object of this sort, they must be rushed to the hospital without any delay, he added. (The New Indian Express)