Doctors tried everything to save a child – then they called in a simple craftsman

Doctors at the Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, India, removed a magnet lodged in the right bronchus of a six-year-old boy using a special magnet made in a local workshop, after previous attempts failed.

Doctors at the Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, India, successfully removed a small magnet lodged in the right bronchus of a six-year-old boy, Arfat Ali, using a special magnet made in a local workshop. The child, a resident of Baduria in North 24 Parganas district, was brought to the hospital on Tuesday suffering from a persistent cough and severe breathing difficulties. After repeated attempts to extract the foreign body using standard medical equipment failed, Dr. Diptanshu Mukhopadhyay turned to craftsman Prabhakar Karar, who produced a powerful magnet adapted to surgical forceps. Using this creative solution, the team extracted the magnet through an opening created in the trachea. The child was transferred to the intensive care unit and is recovering. The article highlights the extraordinary collaboration between medicine and local industry.