In a recent incident, an 18-year-old boy from Pune who works as a carpenter accidentally swallowed a sharp nail while working. He was brought to a private hospital in Baner with a complaint of pain, where he was advised to get an immediate X-ray.

The X-ray revealed a nail in the upper part of his intestine. The sharp object posed a serious risk of internal injury. Considering the criticality of the condition, the team of doctors led by Dr Prasad Bhate, HOD and Senior Consultant – Gastroenterology, Manipal Hospital, swiftly planned to perform an emergency endoscopy procedure to remove the nail.

The patient was brought to the hospital two hours after swallowing the nail. It was easy to find the foreign object via endoscopy because the patient had not eaten anything. The nail was found at the junction of the small intestine, making its removal critical to prevent injury to the internal organs. The nail was gently removed from the body without any surgical procedure.

While speaking about this case, Dr Bhate said, "Ingestion of foreign bodies, especially sharp items, carries serious risks, such as internal bleeding, perforation and serious infections. In this case, the patient ingested a sharp nail that, if not extracted quickly, could have caused fatal consequences. We were able to safely remove the nail without surgery due to advanced endoscopic methods, which reduced recuperation time and prevented serious consequences."

The patient was kept under observation post-removal of the nail and was discharged on the same day with no further complications. A follow-up X-ray was conducted to check for any internal damage, which confirmed that the patient was in good condition with no complications.