Doctors in Switzerland managed to extract a large sewing needle stuck in the larynx of a 57-year-old woman. The situation was close to a catastrophe. And the way the patient behaved made the doctors nervous.
Sometimes it happens to swallow a fish bone, but to "eat" a large sewing needle and not notice it is rare. This is exactly what happened to a 57-year-old woman from Switzerland. The case is described in the medical journal Clinical Case Reports.
At First, They Thought It Was a Stroke
The woman was sewing clothes at home, and out of habit, she held the needle between her lips and did not notice how it slipped down her throat. This happened around 2 PM. After some time, the woman had a calm dinner and went to sleep. She only felt something was wrong a few hours later. She developed a sore throat and her voice became hoarse. In the middle of the night, she called for an ambulance.
When the medics arrived, the woman scared them with her appearance. She was extremely anxious, her tongue was slurred, her speech was impaired, and her gait was unsteady and wobbly. The doctors even suspected a stroke at first — the symptoms seemed so typical to them.
In the hospital, the woman underwent a CT scan. The images immediately made it clear: a large sewing needle, 43 mm long and 2 mm thick, was stuck in her larynx.
Doctors acknowledged that the woman was very lucky. The needle had pierced the mucosa, and its tip was dangerously close to the vessels of the larynx. This could have led to a catastrophe. The needle could have shifted deeper into the airways at any moment, causing bleeding or entering the trachea and lungs.
A Dangerous Situation
The medics decided to act with extreme caution. First, they carefully examined the exact position of the needle using an endoscope. Then, a panel of doctors considered all options for its extraction and anticipated possible consequences. The patient was given a short-acting intravenous anesthetic and a muscle relaxant so that she would not move at the most critical moment. By this time, the needle had been in her body for 8 hours.
The patient was laid on her back — this way, the needle was less likely to go deeper. Using a video laryngoscope (a device with a camera for examining the larynx) and special curved Magill forceps, the doctor carefully grasped the needle and pulled it out. The entire operation took just a few minutes. Immediately afterward, they checked with an endoscope for any bleeding or swelling: everything was fine. The patient spent the night in the intensive care unit under observation. She was discharged the next morning.
The Strange Symptom Found an Explanation
Interestingly, the slurred, mushy speech that frightened the doctors when they arrived at the patient was actually an individual characteristic of the woman. She admitted that she suffers from dysarthria — a temporary speech disorder — in stressful situations. This happens to her regularly.
But by the time of discharge, all neurological symptoms had passed, and only a slight hoarseness remained, which disappeared after a few days.
"If you are sewing, do not hold the needle in your teeth or lips — this is a very risky habit," doctors warn. "In case of any suspicion of a foreign object entering the airways, seek medical attention immediately. Do not attempt to remove the needle, bone, or any obstructing object yourself — this can lead to serious complications."
