Doctors remove one-rupee coin from food pipe of eight-year-old boy

Mumbai: An eight-year-old Andheri boy underwent complex endoscopic procedure at Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital after accidentally swallowing Rs 1 coin. The family spent six hours, visiting several nursing homes before finding relief at Nanavati Hospital.
The boy accidentally swallowed the coin at home and it got stuck in the upper part of the oesophagus—food pipe. Due to the obstruction, he was in immense pain and vomited every time he tried to eat anything. The parents got to know about the coin through an X-Ray done at a local nursing home and after visiting several doctors, came to Nanavati Hospital.
Dr Amol Patil, senior consultant and ENT specialist immediately attended the child. “The boy was in extreme discomfort due to the coin. Any further delay to extract the object could lead to possible life threatening conditions such as infection or rupture of the oesophagus,” said Dr Patil.
After taking all necessary precautions, the surgical team performed a complex esophagoscopy—an endoscopic procedure through the mouth of the boy. With the help of forceps, safely concealed in a metal rod, the team of doctors successfully extracted the coin in no time.
“We kept the patient observation for some time and post operatively, the patient did well. Once he could eat normally and showed no discomfort anymore, we discharged him,” said Dr Patil.
Nanavati Hospital has taken a spew of infection control measures to successfully perform Non-COVID critical procedures during the pandemic. Starting from splitting the hospital in Red and Green Zones to demarcate COVID and Non-COVID areas to creating twin facilities for COVID care such as Triage area for Screening and Testing, Accident and Emergency, Dialysis, Intensive Care Units & Operation Theatres are amongst others. “While we are fighting the COVID pandemic, it’s absolutely essential to create a safe environment to attend & operate Non-COVID emergencies to ensure more lives can be saved,” said Mr Manpreet Singh Sohal, Chief Operating Officer and Director, Nanavati Hospital.