TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Doctors spent almost an hour using an endoscope to remove nearly a dozen batteries from the stomach of a man who had intentionally swallowed them.
A 23-year-old man surnamed Lee (李) who resides in Miaoli County ingested 11 batteries for unknown reasons, reported CNA. Earlier this week, Lee arrived at a hospital emergency room in the middle of the night complaining of abdominal pains.
After doctors conducted x-rays, they spotted 11 AA batteries at the bottom of Lee's stomach. Lin Te-fu (林德福), a physician at the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department at Da Chien General Hospital in Miaoli County, on Tuesday (July 25) told the news agency that most cases of accidental ingestion involve children. However, adults can also be prone to accidental ingestion when intoxicated, he said.
Lee was brought to the hospital by a friend after he said that he had swallowed batteries, without providing an explanation. Lin said that doctors used an endoscope to conduct a gastroscopy, which revealed that Lee had also consumed food that became mixed with the batteries.
Doctors took about an hour to slowly and carefully remove one battery at a time from Lee's stomach, avoiding the need for a laparotomy (surgical incision into the stomach cavity) and preventing potential life-threatening situations. After undergoing the painful experience, Lee reportedly told doctors, "I will never dare to do that again."
Lin said that there is a risk of esophageal perforation if someone swallows foreign objects such as sharp objects, magnets, aluminum foil for medicines, and fish bones or chicken bones, among others. If a person swallows bones by mistake, they should first seek an evaluation from an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist) to confirm whether the bones are stuck in the oropharynx (middle part of the throat).
If the object is lodged below the esophagus, a gastroenterologist needs to remove the foreign object with an endoscope. Before conducting the endoscopy, an X-ray must confirm the object's location and evaluate the risk of esophageal perforation.
Lin said not all foreign objects ingested by mistake require an emergency endoscopy. If the foreign object is less than 2 cm, it may pass through the digestive tract on its own within four to six days.
