In a freak incident, an 8-year-old boy accidentally swallowed a Rs 1 coin which got lodged in his food pipe causing him great pain, but doctors successfully retrieved it in an emergency surgery, a hospital official said on July 17.

The Andheri boy was rushed by his parents to the Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital after an x-ray revealed the problem. He had accidentally swallowed the coin which got wedged in the oesophagus or food pipe, causing him immense pain and making him vomit every time he tried to eat or drink anything.

Initially, the desperate family spent over six hours running to different clinics for help, and finally landed at Nanavati Hospital where ENT specialist and senior consultant Dr. Amol Patil attended to the boy. "The boy was in extreme discomfort due to the coin. Any further delay to extract the object (coin) could lead to possible life-threatening conditions from infection or rupture of the oesophagus," explained Patil.

After taking all precautions, the surgical team performed a complex esophagoscopy - an endoscopic procedure through the boy's mouth - and with the help of forceps, safely concealed in a metal rod, extracted the coin quickly. Later, the child was kept under observation for some time after the operation, and after he showed no discomfort while eating, he was discharged, said Patil. Hospital COO and Director Manpreet Singh Sohal said that in the ongoing Covid pandemic, the hospital has taken a series of infection control measures to perform even non-Covid critical procedures.