23-Month-Old Baby Swallows 33 Magnets... Emergency Surgery for Intestinal Fistula

Recovered Safely After Emergency Surgery at Konyang University Hospital
Professor Yeohijin Youn: "Beware of Swallowing Accidents Involving Magnets and Batteries"

A 23-month-old baby who developed an intestinal fistula after swallowing 33 toy magnets survived a critical situation thanks to the swift response and emergency surgery by hospital medical staff.

According to Konyang University Hospital on June 18, Professor Yeohijin Youn of the Department of Pediatric Surgery recently performed a successful emergency operation on a 23-month-old boy who had swallowed 33 toy magnets.

Professor Yeohijin Youn, Konyang University Hospital. Konyang University Hospital

The child's guardian brought him to the hospital on June 11 after seeing him coughing while holding a magnetic toy. Abdominal X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scans revealed multiple magnets tangled inside the child's small intestine. The medical team determined that the magnets had likely stuck together inside the organs, creating a hole (intestinal fistula) between them, and proceeded with emergency surgery.

When multiple magnets are swallowed, they can simultaneously press on different parts of the intestine or stick together strongly through the intestinal wall, often causing damage to the intestine. If this leads to intestinal perforation or a fistula, it can result in symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, or peritonitis.

In this case, the magnets attracted each other inside the child's body, severely damaging the small intestine and causing an intestinal fistula. The medical team resected about 10 centimeters of the affected small intestine and sutured the damaged area, successfully completing the surgery. The child recovered quickly and was reportedly discharged on June 17.

Professor Youn, who performed the surgery, emphasized, "Most foreign objects are naturally expelled through stool, but items such as magnets, batteries, water beads, or sharp objects can cause intestinal damage or severe complications. If ingestion is suspected, it is essential to visit a hospital for an accurate examination."

She particularly identified lithium coin batteries, along with magnets, as major foreign objects involved in pediatric swallowing accidents. Professor Youn explained, "Coin batteries often get stuck in the esophagus, and in such cases, the electrical current can cause electrical burns. A fistula may form between the airway and esophagus, or, in severe cases, between the aorta and esophagus, posing a life-threatening risk."

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Consumer Agency's trends on child safety accidents, the number of 'foreign body ingestion or aspiration' accidents among children increased from 1,915 cases in 2019 to 2,101 cases in 2023 over the past five years. Toys accounted for the highest proportion of major accident items at 46.3%, and 82.2% of all such accidents occurred in children aged 1 to 6 years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.