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Monmouth
Medical Center pediatric surgeon Saad A. Saad, M.D., has a collection of objects
he’s taken from children’s foodpipes and windpipes. |
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Question:
What do a Brooklyn Bridge token, a Barbie doll head, a
toy plastic giraffe and a pink “Extra Reach”
toothbrush have in common?
Answer:
They’ve all been removed from children’s foodpipes
by Saad A. Saad, M.D., chief of pediatric surgery at Monmouth
Medical Center. The variety of the foreign bodies children
get caught in their foodpipe (esophagus) or windpipe (trachea)
provokes a smile now because we know the kids are all
right. But, as Dr. Saad says, “it’s no laughing
matter during the incident.”
One
of only seven New Jersey surgeons who are board certified in both general surgery
and pediatric surgery, Dr. Saad has an interest in the challenge of removing such
trapped items. And he has just enough P.T. Barnum in him to display in his Eatontown
office a collection of the articles he has removed from children in 20 years of
practice. The collection serves a cautionary purpose: It warns parents to keep
small, entrancing objects out of the reach of young children. When
children swallow small articles, they often pass through their digestive systems
harmlessly. (One dangerous exception that should trigger immediate medical attention:
swallowing a battery, because of its toxic contents.) But when such objects become
lodged in either the windpipe or the foodpipe, they can cause serious problems
if they are not removed promptly. Many times when a foreign
body is detected in a child, it can be removed surgically in minutes, Dr. Saad
explains. The child is placed under anesthesia, then he inserts an endoscope —“a
long tube like a straw with a camera at the tip”— into the windpipe
or esophagus to identify the object, which is removed with a long tweezerlike
device. Children are at peak risk for getting objects stuck inside them at ages
six months to two years. But ages can vary; it was a 13-year-old who put away
the toothbrush—a scenario perhaps better left unimagined. “If
your child has a persistent cough or sneeze and runny nose and a fever that comes
and goes,” says Dr. Saad, “it could be a sign of a foreign body lodged
in the windpipe or foodpipe. You should
pay a visit to your pediatrician.”
If it happens to your child
 What
should you do if you suspect your child may have just gotten something stuck in
the windpipe or foodpipe? Saad A. Saad, M.D., chief of pediatric surgery at Monmouth
Medical Center, advises:
• Don’t put your finger down the child’s
throat; you may drive the item in deeper. • If the child is under 6, hold
him or her upside down to let the item fall out.
• If the child is 6 or
older, do the Heimlich maneuver. Reaching from behind the child, place your fist
in the space between the child’s lower chest and upper stomach and push.
*
If the object is not dislodged and the child is having trouble breathing, call
9-1-1 or take him or her to an emergency room.
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