A man in Dalian, China, lived with a long metal chopstick stuck in his throat for 8 years before finally having it removed by doctors.Most people couldn’t spend more than a few minutes with a 12-centimetre metal rod stuck in their throat, but one Chinese man lived like this for eight years, before finally having it removed by a team of doctors.
46-year-old Mr Wang recently showed up at the Dalian Municipal Central Hospital in Liaoning Province complaining about unbearable pain in his throat and a foreign body sensation. Following an X-ray exam, doctors were shocked to see a 12-centimetre shaft stuck in the patient’s throat, but when they asked him if he knew anything about it, he casually told them that it was a metal chopstick he had accidentally swallowed eight years earlier.
Eight years ago, Mr. Wang accidentally swallowed a whole metal chopstick while eating. He didn’t go into specifics about how exactly it happened, but an article on the Dalian Hospital website mentions that the Chinese man used to have an alcohol problem. Although he experienced a choking sensation in his neck and intermittent throat pain immediately after choking, he had no difficulty breathing.
The hospital initially performed simple treatment to temporarily relieve the acute discomfort, but it was found that a lateral incision was needed to remove the chopstick. Upon learning that the surgical interventions had some serious risks, Mr. Wang decided it wasn’t worth it, and continued living with the chopstick in his throat.
For the next eight years, Wang considered the occasional foreign body sensation and mild discomfort in his throat to be tolerable, so he hardly ever thought about the chopstick. However, the 46-year-old recently started experiencing significant throat pain in the morning. After noticing that the symptoms didn’t subside even after taking pain medication, Wang decided to visit the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Affiliated Central Hospital of Dalian University of Technology for emergency treatment.
Upon careful examination, no obvious ulceration, bleeding, or suppuration was found in the pharyngeal mucosa adjacent to the foreign object. Left in the man’s throat, the chopstick would continue to irritate the throat tissues but could also damage surrounding blood vessels and mucous membranes.
The medical staff came up with a minimally invasive surgical plan for oral removal, eliminating the need for neck surgery and completely alleviating the patient’s concerns. Through minimally invasive surgery, Dr. Huang Weipeng gradually peeled and pulled the object, ultimately removing the 12-centimetre-long stainless steel chopstick intact.
After several days of careful observation, Mr. Wang’s throat discomfort and dull pain symptoms were quickly relieved, the congestion of the pharyngeal mucosa gradually subsided.
The bizarre case was published on the Dalian Municipal Central Hospital website as a wake-up call for the public. If a foreign object is accidentally swallowed or inserted into the body, seek medical help immediately. Prolonged retention of the object can irritate surrounding tissues, leading to all kinds of dangerous situations.
