A 17 yo nonverbal, mentally handicap male arrived to the ER accompanied by his elder mother with the chief complaint "Ken doll is missing."I went to evaluate the patient and the mother said "I haven't been able to find the Ken doll that he plays with for days...I think he swallowed it." I replied, "Does he have a history of eating large objects?" The mother said, "Well, he periodically eats things if you don't keep an eye on him." I then replied, "What has he eaten in the past?" The mother stated, "Well, last week a VHS tape went missing and after a couple days I noticed some black magnetic tape hanging out of his bottom." I was puzzled, "Really, did you go see a Doctor?" She replied, "No, I saw the tape hanging there and just slowly started pulling and got about 6 feet of tape out of his bottom." I was astonished but continued with the history, "So has he been acting different since the Ken doll went missing. Such as vomiting or no bowel movements?" The mother looked toward her son, deep in thought... "Come to think of it. He has vomited a couple times and has not gone number two for at least two days."
Reassurance did not help...mom SWORE he had to have eaten the 12 inch Ken doll. Then...the patient became acutely ill. He started to look more and more like an acute abdomen, and X rays showed an obstruction. Surgery was consulted, and he was taken to the OR for an exploratory laparotomy. The findings were pretty amazing. It seemed as though he bit off the head of the doll, swallowed it, then went for the extremities one by one, then finished off with the torso. Kens head was lodged in the small intestine! Eventually, they got the rest out, and this missing person case was put to rest. Another good reason why boys shouldn't play with dolls!
-Doc Sensitive
14 comments:
that's a new one! we had a guy in the prison ward in med school who broke apart a rabbit-ear TV antenna and ate the pieces. he was excited they could only get some out with the scope and that he'd have to go to surgery to get the rest out. his x-ray jacket was very interesting--many objects in many body orifices.
It really sounds like you guys are taking episodes of Grey's Anatomy and twisting them for your own stories. The more I read this blog the more I believe it's a strong attempt at a fake. Several of the things just don't add up, and I became really suspicious after the intubating an actively choking boy who ended up getting bronched to pull out the food.
To Anonymous, even if they ARE making the stories up, I ask myself, "do I care?" They make me laughand they make me think, and that's all I care about. Keep up the great work guys, love the blog!
anon who cares? I agree with canuck......and seriously, you would be amazed what ends up (i mean this quite literally) in ppl......just work in an ER.
Wow. Great case.
Dear anonymous,
First of all...I don't watch Grey's Anatomy. I don't have that kinda time and I have balls. Second, the one thing I hate most is fakeness. These stories are all 100% true. Sometimes I wish they weren't (see "nursing home nightmares" or "lucky to be alive?".
There's no benefit in making up stories. Again, I don't have the time for that. My friends and I have exchanged stories for years and all the while said "man...we gotta write this stuff down." Now we have. Whatever your med career is, you are probably in the burbs bc in the county these stories are all too true and not that suprising. We have at least 15 just sitting in the draft section waiting to publish, let alone what we have in our memories.
And again about the hot dog case...read it again. He wasn't intubated actively choacking. He was tubed in the ER. I'm sorry I didn't write out every detail. But if you read my comment to your reply, I explained that the main obstruction was relieved by EMS by the heimlech maneuvar, and what he aspirated was removed by bronchoscopy. I also explained different ways to get an airway if someone is obstructed. Maybe you should go back and read the post and my reply comment more closely.
-ER Doc
real life is stranger than fiction.
Thats really ... interesting. Did they find anything else in there?
That has got to be up with the strangest things people have ingested category.
To Anonymous this is Doc Sensitive-
This really happened. You should work in an ER and see the crazy things that come in. I swear on my grandmother's grave. According to the surgeons, they found only a Ken doll head, torso, legs, arms- nothing else. I've been telling these stories at parties for years and never really had the reason or desire to write them down until now. Hope you guys enjoy b/c I have more in the draft section waiting.
Doc Sensitive
doc sensitive...you shouldn't have to prove yourself to losers that have no life. we all enjoy your stories..and being "only a nurse" i have a story about a guy that swallowed tobacco lids...and had to have them surgically removed...when asked how he did it..he rolled them up with toliet paper and when the stomach acid hit they expanded in his stomach...so yes people swallow weird things...anonymous should have had the balls to use his/her really name...if they really thought you were fakes...
New blog, people, they're doing the best stuff first.
Great blog, funny post, and no more potentially edible toys for this boy!! Keep the stories, but especially the non-PC snarky observations--coming at us. I needed a new place to visit over coffee since "Scapel or Sword" bowed out.
Pattie, RN
Barbies are a popular in the orifices. I have seen many x-rays and taken care of many post-op open abdominals but for some reason the barbie up the butt really sticks out! Nurse T
Clearly, Anon who thinks you are making it up does not work in medicine - especially ER.
I've worked in medicine for almot 30 years, half of that in the ER.
Believe me, the human mind is absolutely infinate in the things it can dream up to do, think, or say...and sometimes eat.
Eating unsuitable items really is a serious mental & physical disorder.
Roozter
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