An eight-year-old boy has had a drawing pin removed from his trachea after accidentally swallowing it while carrying out tasks at home.
The incident took place in the city of Ningxiang in the landlocked Chinese province of Hunan on 21st June.
According to the news site Weibo, the boy, named as Xiao Ming, accidentally swallowed the drawing pin and immediately started a severe coughing fit as he struggled to breathe.
As pushpins are sharp with a risk of puncturing the boy’s trachea at any time, his family took him to the Hunan Children’s Hospital for treatment.
Doctor Xie Lihua said “the CT scan showed that the foreign body was stuck in the patient’s right bronchus”, adding that the situation was urgent and a multidisciplinary medical team was promptly put together to come up with the best course of action.
The pushpin was eventually removed from the boy’s windpipe in an operation and Doctor Xie Lihua confirmed that there had been no major problems during surgery and that the boy is recovering well.
With the summer holiday approaching, the doctor also reminded parents to keep an eye on their children at all times, especially if they are young when I have a tendency for frequently placing small objects in their mouths.
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