A perforated duodenum leaking its contents into the abdominal cavity confronted surgeons at Kuwait Hospital in Sharjah, who operated to save a patient found to have swallowed both a metal spoon and a 12-centimeter nail, officials announced Tuesday, according to Gulf News.
The tear traced back to the nail, which had punctured the wall of the duodenum and let its contents escape internally — a condition doctors classified as an immediate threat to the patient’s life. That finding, revealed through medical imaging, left the surgical team with little choice but to operate without delay.
Both objects were pulled out by a specialist team that went on to close the tear and perforation, the facility reported, adding that checks confirmed neighboring organs had escaped harm. The patient had reached the emergency department in critical shape after ingesting the two items, said the hospital, which operates under Emirates Health Services.
According to the hospital, sharp foreign objects carry a distinct danger once swallowed, capable of piercing the digestive tract and forcing surgeons to intervene on an emergency basis.
Neither the patient’s age nor any account of how the nail and spoon came to be swallowed was released.
