Ate a tuna sandwich and ended up in emergency surgery: The ENT department at Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center encountered a particularly surprising case.
Haim, a resident of the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem, came to the Shaarei Tzedek Psychiatrist after feeling a stabbing sensation in his throat when swallowing for three days, which became increasingly severe.
After a series of extensive tests, he underwent emergency surgery to remove a foreign body, during which it was discovered that he had swallowed a three-centimeter-long metallic foreign body - after three days earlier he had eaten a packaged tuna sandwich intended for his four-year-old son.
""Haim came to us on Friday around noon, after walking around for three days with a stabbing sensation when swallowing," says Dr. Or Shtrickman, a senior intern in the ENT department. "Due to the background of eating fish, the initial suspicion was that it was a stuck bone.".
Dr. Ohad Cohen, senior physician and head of vocal cord and larynx surgery in the department: "The intensity of the pain and the length of time that had passed since eating the sandwich were unusual, so we performed a CT scan that demonstrated the foreign body in the upper esophagus.".
However, the initial suspicion was proven wrong when, during the emergency surgery led by Dr. Cohen and Dr. Shtrickman, accompanied by anesthesiologists, it turned out that the foreign object that Haim swallowed was a very sharp iron bar three centimeters long. "We performed endoscopic surgery through the mouth, removing the iron bar that had already caused a wound in the esophageal wall. It is important to understand that any further delay could have led to severe infection and complications," emphasizes Dr. Cohen.
Haim, who was also surprised to discover that he had swallowed the iron, says: "My first thought was about my son - the sandwich was intended for him, and miraculously he wasn't hungry at that moment. When I ate the sandwich I felt a slight scratch, but I thought it was a small fish bone from the tuna. It was only when the pain got worse after two days that my wife insisted that I get checked.
""The doctors explained to me that this was a case of concern for life and that I needed to go into the operating room quickly. They noted that there was a risk of immediate infection due to the long period of time the foreign body had been in the throat. On Friday evening, I went into surgery under full anesthesia and the doctors successfully removed the iron.
""We had a chain of miracles here – starting with the child not eating, through the fact that the iron did not continue into the stomach, which could have caused irreversible damage, to the rapid treatment at Shaarei Tzedek.".
""The biggest miracle is that I listened to my wife and went for a checkup on Friday morning and did not postpone the treatment until after Shabbat. I am grateful to Dr. Shtrickman, Dr. Cohen and the entire operating room team for their dedication and sensitivity.".
Dr. Strickman: "After we successfully removed the iron, Haim was hospitalized for two days for observation and then discharged home with antibiotic treatment.
""We call on the public - in any case of unusual pain or a foreign body sensation when swallowing - do not wait, do not hesitate, seek medical attention immediately, it can save lives.".
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