People who accidentally swallow bones or other objects are advised by doctors to seek medical aid as soon as possible following a recent case in which a patient, who complained of fever and upper abdominal pain was found to have a 2cm long fish bone embedded in the surface of his pancreas.
According to staff at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Nantou Hospital, a 56-year-old man late last month came to the hospital after feeling pain in his upper abdomen and running a fever for three days.
The hospital ran a blood check and found an abnormal amount of white blood cells and arranged for him to take a CT scan.
The scan showed an object piercing the bottom of his stomach and poking into his pancreas, forming an abscess on the pancreas, doctors said.
The hospital immediately arranged for the patient to undergo surgery, and after extracting the object, found it to be a fish bone.
The patient said he had started feeling pain after eating tilapia two days before the pain started, adding that he must have swallowed the bone along with his rice.
According to surgeon Lee Po-chang (李博彰), if fish bones, chicken bones or other sharp objects are accidentally ingested, the proper way to expel the bones is to stop eating and cough lightly.
If the object cannot be ejected by coughing, medical aid should be sought, Lee said, adding that traditional remedies, such as drinking vinegar or swallowing rice or steamed buns only risk exacerbating the problem.
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