A medical team at Al-Mouwasat Hospital in Riyadh saved the life of a two-year-old child, after he swallowed 7 circular magnetic discs while playing with them, at an unknown time. The child had arrived at the hospital emergency room with his parents, and he was in a state of severe fatigue and suffering from severe abdominal pain and bouts of nausea. Repeated vomiting.
The emergency team conducted initial examinations and a number of tests and x-rays. It was clearly shown that there were 7 magnetic balls that attracted each other inside the digestive system, causing holes and damage to part of the intestine.
The pediatric surgery team, led by Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad Abdul-Daim, decided to intervene quickly to prevent any new complications and save the child’s life. Pointing out that the surgery was performed and took approximately two hours. Where all the magnetic pieces located inside the stomach were extracted, in addition to treating the holes, removing the damaged part of the intestine, and reconnecting the healthy ends with each other.
In conclusion, the efforts of the pediatric surgery team were crowned with success, praise be to God, without any complications occurring to the child. He confirmed that he was discharged from the hospital after five days of careful monitoring of his health condition, and he began taking meals and fluids and returned to his normal life.
Why is swallowing small magnet balls so dangerous and can lead to serious complications…?
When the child sees it, he puts it in his mouth thinking it is candy.
These small magnets are very strong and stronger than regular magnets.
Therefore, when swallowing more than one piece, these pieces may stick together due to their strength through any part of the digestive system, thus causing blockages or holes. Therefore, we ask everyone not to be careful and not to buy such toys if there are children in the house.
