Doctors in Egypt have saved a five-year-old boy after he swallowed 20 foreign objects, including seven batteries and 13 high-powered magnets, in a rare incident that required both endoscopic and surgical intervention, Mansoura University Children’s Hospital said.
The child was admitted to the hospital’s emergency department, where scans revealed the objects scattered throughout his digestive tract, creating a serious risk of intestinal perforation and other potentially life-threatening complications, local media reported.
A multidisciplinary medical team first performed an endoscopy, successfully removing 12 objects, five batteries and seven magnets, without injuring the digestive tract.
Follow-up imaging showed that eight objects remained in the small intestine, including two batteries and six magnets that could not be reached by endoscopy. The child was then taken directly to the operating room, where paediatric surgeons successfully removed the remaining objects.
The boy was kept under observation until his condition stabilised and was later discharged after recovering, the hospital said.
