If a LEGO is Swallowed, How Long Does it Take to be Pooped Out?

This is one of those published research papers I had to wonder if it was for real or not... but it appears to be genuine in spite of the jocular tone of the article. Published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health , researchers swallowed small LEGO pieces and then monitored bowel movements to determine how long it took before it got pooped out. The general point of the study being that children often swallow toy objects and as long as it doesn't get stuck in the throat (and lack…

11/28/2018 0

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Drinking Honey Reduces Throat Damage after Swallowing Button Battery

Button batteries swallowed by children cause significant damage to the lining of the throat and esophagus and has the potential to cause significant swallowing difficulties both in the short-term due to mucosal injury as well as long-term issues from scarring. Serious damage can occur within 2 hours of battery ingestion and deaths have also occurred due to button battery ingestion. As such, any intervention that can be done to minimize mucosal damage from the moment of swallow until the butto…

11/24/2018 0

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Swallowed Coin Removal without Sedation Using a Foley in a Young Child

A blog subscriber recently informed me about a video showing a coin being removed blindly from a young child using only a foley catheter without any sedation. Watch video  above... This blind removal technique basically involves passing a small foley catheter through the mouth and PAST where the coin is located within the esophagus, typically behind the voicebox. The foley catheter balloon which would then be located past where the coin would be, is then inflated with a syringe. After ballo…

11/23/2018 0

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Metal Detector Instead of X-rays for Swallowed Coins and Other Metallic Objects

Handheld Metal Detector Due to a recent rash of consults of patients swallowing coins and other foreign bodies mainly in kids but adults too, it occurred to me that a handheld metal detector similar to one that is used in airport security screening can quickly and easily determine whether a metal object is present within the body as well as where. This quick screening can serve three purposes... 1) X-rays can be avoided along with its radiation exposure. Typically, a neck, chest, and …

3/07/2017 0

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The Artificial Larynx

Image from Protip Medical We have had artificial lungs, artificial hearts, artificial kidneys... but now we also have an artificial larynx. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in Jan 2017, French researchers described a patient who required the entire voicebox removed (laryngectomy) due to cancer and than implanted with a totally artificial larynx in 2015. This patient is actually the second patient who has undergone artificial laryngeal implantation. The first occurred in 2…

1/09/2017 0

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The 12 Cranial Nerves set to the 12 Days of Christmas

A twitter follower of mine  @dysphagiacafe sent me this video link describing the 12 cranial nerves set to the 12 days of Christmas. Check it out!

12/31/2014 0

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