BEIJING: A 32-year-old Chinese man who went to hospital suffering from stomach pain was shocked to discover that a mercury thermometer he had swallowed 20 years ago was still inside him.
The man, surnamed Wang, from Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, southeastern China, had sought treatment at the Longgang branch of The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University.
A scan revealed a foreign object in his duodenum, which doctors highly suspected to be a mercury thermometer.
As the tip of the thermometer was pressing directly against the intestinal wall, it posed a high risk of perforation and severe internal bleeding.
Wang revealed that he had accidentally swallowed the thermometer at the age of 12, but was too afraid to tell his parents.
At the time, his parents were also busy with work, and since he had no symptoms, the incident was eventually forgotten.
Surgeons removed the offending object in just 20 minutes.
The operation was highly delicate because the thermometer had been retained for an extended period and lay close to Wang’s bile ducts, posing a significant risk of damaging the intestinal wall.
The retrieved thermometer was intact but its measurement markings had faded.
Experts from the hospital’s endoscopy centre said that people who swallow foreign objects should stop eating and drinking immediately, minimise swallowing and speaking and seek urgent medical attention.
According to the Wenzhou Daily Newspaper Group, more than 1 million people in China seek medical attention each year after accidentally swallowing foreign objects, with children accounting for over 60 per cent of cases and the elderly about per cent.
Fish bones, chicken bones, batteries, magnets and dentures are among the most common objects.
In another case last June, a 64-year-old man surnamed Yang from Anhui province in central China sought medical attention for chest discomfort and found a toothbrush inside his body that had been there for 52 years.
At the age of 12, he accidentally swallowed it but chose to hide the incident out of fear of being scolded by his parents, mistakenly believing it would dissolve on its own.
Over the years, he experienced mild abdominal discomfort but did not take it seriously.
Wang’s case caused shock online.
One person said: “He is incredibly lucky. Thankfully the thermometer did not break and no mercury leaked.” - South China Morning Post
