3-year-old girl swallows a ring and has to undergo emergency surgery to remove it

While playing with her mother’s ring, the little girl put it into her mouth and swallowed it. Her father realized that his daughter was experiencing shortness of breath and performed the Heimlich maneuver. After starting to breathe again, she was rushed to the Pediatric Emergency Room at Hillel Yaffe, were they performed emergency surgery and removed the ring

2/04/2023

Dima Abu Ful, 3.5 years old from Baqa al-Gharbiyye was at her grandmother’s, playing with her mother's ring. While she was talking to her mother on the phone, she put the metal ring into her mouth and swallowed it. Suffering shortness of breath, she ran quickly to her grandmother who saw that the little girl was turning blue and not breathing. She immediately called Dima's father, Amir, a registered nurse, who performed the Heimlich on her and got her breathing again, although the ring did not come out.

Dr. Suhel Gara with Dima, who is holding the ring that was removed

Dima was rushed quickly to the Pediatric ER at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. She was X-rayed upon arrival, and they clearly saw the ring stuck in her upper esophagus. Dima was taken for emergency surgery under general anesthesia. Using an endoscope (a narrow and flexible tube) that was inserted through her mouth to the esophagus, Dr. Suhel Gara, a physician in the Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) Department, removed the ring intact.

Dima was hospitalized for observation in the Pediatrics Department, is feeling well, and the ring is currently being kept in a small box as a souvenir.

Director of the ENT – Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery Department at HYMC, Prof. Itzhak Braverman, said, “We’re frequently called on to treat children who swallow foreign objects. I call on parents to be vigilant and not allow children to play will small objects that are dangerous if swallowed. These types of situations can be life threatening.”