A toddler was brought to the pediatric emergency department, without suffering any special symptoms, by his parents, residents of Nahariya. The parents said that they decided to go to the medical center, because they suspected that their son had swallowed magnets, after some of the magnet balls he was playing with disappeared.
Upon his arrival, an X-ray was taken, which showed a large amount of magnets in the stomach and esophagus area.
Following this, the toddler underwent an endoscopy, during which most of the magnets were removed from his body. The operation was performed by Dr. Orit Elkayam, pediatric gastroenterologist and senior physician in the pediatric wing, in collaboration with the adult gastroenterology team led by Dr. Wissam Savit and Dr. Amir Shahin.
Due to the prolonged stay of the magnets in the digestive system, and parts of the digestive tract sticking to each other by the magnets, several magnets penetrated the stomach wall, and it was not possible to pull them out without endangering the toddler's life. As a result, the baby was transferred to emergency surgery.
Dr. Nadav Slifer, director of the pediatric surgery department, who operated on the baby, said that during the operation, 11 additional magnets were found in different areas of the digestive tract, as well as holes in the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine, which were caused by the magnets penetrating the intestinal wall. When the magnets were removed, the surgeons repaired the holes.
After the operation, the baby was hospitalized first in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit), in good condition, and later, he was moved to the pediatric surgery department.
Dr. Slifer as an important message for parents: "Magnets are a very dangerous game. When a baby swallows magnets, they stick to each other in the digestive system and can cause intestinal obstruction and perforations, and in some cases even lead to a life-threatening situation. The best treatment is prevention. It is important to keep magnets out of the reach of babies and children, and if there is a suspicion that your child swallowed magnets, the child should be brought to the emergency department as soon as possible."