Doctors Save Infant Choking on Ketchup Packet Piece

Doctors at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center successfully saved the life of a nine-month-old infant from Binyamina whose airway was obstructed for five days by a piece of ketchup packaging lodged between his vocal cords. The infant was brought to the pediatric emergency room suffering from an unusual cough and hoarseness that began after he choked on something while playing on the floor.

Although an initial X-ray showed no foreign object, medical staff remained vigilant due to the parents' description of the incident. Dr. Tali Teitelbaum, an ENT physician, noted the child's cough was abnormal. The sudden choking episode, combined with hoarseness and the unusual cough without signs of infection, raised suspicion of a foreign body, prompting a swift endoscopic examination.

Using a tiny camera inserted through the nose, doctors identified a one-centimeter red plastic piece from a ketchup sauce packet lodged vertically in the infant's throat. Miraculously, the object's position allowed for some airflow. Due to the immediate risk of complete airway blockage if the object shifted, the infant was rushed to surgery.

Professor Yitzhak Breuer, head of the ENT and Head and Neck Surgery department, successfully removed the foreign object. Following the procedure and a scan of the infant's airways, he was reported to be in good condition, remained under observation briefly, and was then discharged home.

In light of this case, doctors are urging parents to exercise extreme caution at home, keeping small objects and packaging parts away from children, especially during holiday periods when children spend more time indoors. Professors Breuer and Teitelbaum emphasized that if an unusual cough, new hoarseness, or breathing changes persist after a sudden choking incident, particularly with drooling and uncertainty about whether the child ingested something, it is crucial to seek medical evaluation to rule out a foreign body in the airway.