A second without supervision is enough: Baby's life saved after choking on a piece of ketchup packaging
Doctors at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center saved the life of a nine-month-old baby from Binyamina, after a piece of plastic from a ketchup package was lodged in his throat for five days. The infant was brought in with an unusual cough and hoarseness, and an endoscopic examination identified the foreign object. He was successfully operated on and released to his home.
Doctors at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center saved the life of a nine-month-old baby from Binyamina, after a dangerous foreign object was lodged between his vocal cords for five days. The infant was brought to the pediatric emergency department suffering from an unusual cough and hoarseness that had persisted since he was on the floor of his home and suddenly choked. Although an initial X-ray did not show any findings, the medical team remained highly alert due to the parents' description. In an endoscopic examination using a tiny camera inserted through the nose, doctors identified a red piece of plastic from a ketchup sauce package, about one centimeter long, stuck in a vertical position that miraculously allowed air passage on both sides. Due to the immediate danger that any movement of the object could completely block the trachea, the infant was rushed to the operating room, where the head of the Ear, Nose, and Throat and Head and Neck Surgery Department, Prof. Yitzhak Braverman, successfully removed the object. After the procedure, it was reported that the baby felt well, was kept for a short observation, and was released to his home. The doctors called on parents to exercise extra caution at home and keep small objects and packaging parts away, especially during holiday vacations.