Doctors earlier this week removed 11 batteries from a man’s stomach, intervening before they posed a serious danger to his health.
The 23-year-old man surnamed Lee (李) was taken to Da Chien General Hospital in Miaoli County late at night by a friend who said that Lee had swallowed batteries, gastroenterologist Lin Te-fu (林德福) said yesterday.
From an X-ray, doctors confirmed the presence of 11 AA batteries in Lee’s stomach, he said.
Photo courtesy of Da Chien General Hospital via CNA
When conducting a gastroscopy, using an endoscope to examine the upper digestive tract, they also discovered a lot of food among the batteries, he added.
As there is a risk of ulceration or tearing the stomach lining with endoscopic foreign body retrieval, in addition to being painful in the throat, doctors took their time with the procedure, Lin said.
They ended up spending about an hour carefully removing each battery, avoiding the need to perform surgery and taking them out before they posed a greater risk to the man’s health, he said.
After experiencing the pain of removing 11 batteries from his stomach, Lee told the doctors that he “would not dare” do it again, Lin said.
Mostly it is children who come into the hospital after swallowing foreign objects, with alcohol poisoning a far more common malady among adults, he said.
Some foreign objects could tear the esophagus if ingested, such as sharp objects, magnets, aluminum trays used for medication, fish bones and chicken bones, Lin said.
If a bone is accidentally ingested, Lin recommended first visiting an ear, nose and throat doctor to see whether it had become lodged in the oropharynx.
If the object has moved past the esophagus, a gastroenterologist must perform an endoscopy to remove it after locating it on an X-ray and determining it is safe, he said.
Not every accidental ingestion requires emergency intervention, Lin said, adding that objects smaller than 2cm usually pass on their own after four to six days.
However, if the item obstructs the esophagus, or if it is a battery, sharp or long, he recommended seeking immediate medical help.
Doctors also advised particular care for young children, the elderly and those with chronic difficulty swallowing, as items can become stuck more easily.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS