Mumbai: ENTs perform endoscopic surgery on 8-year-old boy to remove coin stuck in food pipe

A two-rupee coin lodged in the food pipe of an eight-year-old boy was removed via endoscopic surgery by the ENT doctors of King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital at Parel.

Doctor Neelam Sathe, head of the ENT unit at this hospital told the Free Press Journal, "We admitted the patient and by taking a great risk, performed esophagoscopy on him and removed the coin successfully. Performing the surgery usually is not a big task but now in this pandemic situation the surgery was performed by wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE). However, I had to remove the face shield and specs for doing esophagoscopy so I could see the lodged coin properly.

"It was very risky as it is done on nose and throat, which generates aerosol, and prove dangerous for operating surgeon as well other staff who are inside the operation theatre in this covid situation. Besides, though the COVID test was conducted on patient but before the results could come, we had to perform the surgery so to save the patient's life, as he was empty stomach for more than 12 hours."

The doctors completed the surgery in 40 minutes and after keeping him for six hours observation the boy was discharged. Sathe said, "KEM hospital has been handling large number of COVID patients on daily basis. Moreover, to meet the high demand several non-covid wards has been now turned for covid treatment purpose. Our ENT ward too has been converted into COVID ward temporarily. As the operation was unavoidable, surgery was conducted in Pediatric ward. Moreover, after successfully completing the surgery the patient was given ice-cream to eat as it is semi-solid to check if he was able to swallow it properly."

Meanwhile the uncle of the boy named Swapnil Vekhande thanked the team of KEM doctors for taking up the case during this critical time of Pandemic. He said, "We live in Shahapur which is about 90 kilometres away from Mumbai city. Here at our place private and a government hospitals including the Shivaji Hospital at Kalwa denied to undertake the treatment due to no facility was available. We managed an ambulance and somehow reached KEM, where doctors agreed to treat my nephew."

He stated that while playing, the boy was flying the two rupees coin in air so to catch it but it went inside his mouth accidentally. As the boy was able to talk he told his mother, who later rushed him to different hospitals for treatment.