Doctors save girl who accidentally swallowed magnets
"If magnets [located in the stomach] were either moving or positioned on either side of the intestines, due to the strength of the magnet, they could cause injury, necrosis and even holes."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMagnets swallowed by young girl, pulled from stomach of young girl in Hadassah-Ein Kerem(photo credit: HADASSAH SPOKESPERSON)
Doctors at Hadassah-Ein Kerem hospital rushed a young girl into surgery, saving her from potential severe complications following her arrival at the hospital after she accidentally swallowed a number of small magnets."Alma was playing with friends, jumping with them on the trampoline, when she wanted to trick them into thinking she had a tongue piercing," Alma's mother explained. "She stuck out her tongue with the metal magnets that we have from a game at home, but at that very moment a friend jumped, and the movement caused Alma to swallow all the marbles at once."Alma, 9, immediately ran to her mother in panic. Her mother quickly researched on the internet what the implications of swallowing magnets could be, and upon realize the danger of the situation hurriedly brought her daughter to the emergency room at Hadassah-Ein Kerem hospital.Upon their arrival, the attending doctor at the time, immediately understood the seriousness of the case."When I met Alma I examined the abdominal photo and realized that the magnets were located in the stomach," said Dr. Mordechai Slae, a specialist in pediatric gastroenterology at Hadassah, and one of the doctors attending to Alma's case."From [the stomach], they can move and do enormous damage to the gut, so I knew our window of opportunity was narrow, and we rushed Alma to the operating room," he added."The risk for this kind of incident is high," Dr. Slae explained. "This is because if the magnets were either moving or positioned on either side of the intestines, due to the strength of the magnet, they could cause injury, necrosis and even holes."He added that unfortunately the hospital is accustomed to these kinds of cases where the damage has already been done, and that within the last two years alone, the hospital has encountered ten of such cases."I reiterate to parents at every possible opportunity that it is so important to be careful with these marbles. This game is not innocent," he warned.Earlier this year, a one-and-a-half-year-old infant swallowed 32 magnetic balls, and underwent a removal procedure at the same hospital. Although the hospital is accustomed to seeing such cases, a doctor at the hospital said that it was the highest number that they've ever encountered in the stomach of a child.
