4-year-old girl who swallowed screw saved by timely surgery

The screw that had lodged in the child’s air passage was blocking the air flow to her lung

Doctors at Dr RN Cooper Medical College performed a life-saving surgery to remove a screw from a four-year-old girl’s air passage on Wednesday. They said Aradhna would have not survived without the timely intervention.

The screw that was removed during the surgery.

“The screw was blocking the air flow to the lung. Had there been further delay, the restricted air flow would have hardened her lung,” said Dr Shashikant Mhashal, head of ENT department at RN Copper Hospital and Medical College in Vile Parle. “Everyone was treating her for cough, assuming it was a viral infection. Had the surgery not been performed on time, she would have not survived,” Mhashal added.

It was only on Monday that the doctors found a foreign body in the child’s bronchus, the air passage which connects the lungs to the windpipe, following an X-ray examination. “She was coughing incessantly. We took her to several doctors and all of them treated her for cough and fever. After taking medicines, she would be fine and once the medicines were stopped, the symptoms resurfaced,” said her Nayomi, her mother who works as a domestic help.

The family has no idea when Aradhna swallowed the screw. “I am not at home for most of the time. She must have swallowed the screw while playing,” said Nayomi.

Dr Mhashal said parents should not allow children to play with toys with small detachable parts. “Foreign bodies, like the screw in this case, if lodged in the body leads infection which can be life threatening,” said Dr Mhashal.