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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as