A 20-year-old turned up to A&E with stomach pains but what started as suspected appendicitis turned into something much more sinister.
The patient, who hasn’t been named, turned out to have a wooden toothpick stuck in his abdomen.
But he was none the wiser to the unexpected find, which saw him in agony.
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The patient had been fit and healthy up until 24 hours before rushing to hospital.
He was first treated at another medical care facility but as things deteriorated, he was taken to the emergency department where doctors ran urgent tests.
The patient underwent clinical assessment, which found him to be hypotensive, and he was referred to radiology for further investigation after docs suspected a perforation in his bowel.
That’s when doctors decided to open him up and explore the root cause of the issue by examining the organs in the belly and made a surgical incision, where they unveiled something unexpected.
A wooden toothpick.
Docs swiftly removed the unwelcome visitor and the patient’s appendix, too.
After the terrifying ordeal, he has “recovered well post-operatively without encountering any complications” after five days.
