A 55-year-old Ghatkopar resident was rushed to hospital after a chicken bone got stuck in her food pipe. Urmila Chavan was enjoying her Sunday dinner of rice and chicken curry when she suddenly choked on the bone. Doctors at Kohinoor Hospital, where Ms. Chavan underwent a minor procedure, said the bone measuring 2.3 cm was sharp-edged and caused injuries to the tissues in her food pipe.
“She choked on the bone at around 10 p.m., but she came to the hospital on Monday morning. By this time, she was extremely dehydrated because she could not even drink anything,” said ENT surgeon Dr. Sanjay Helale, who carried out the bone removal procedure. Ms. Chavan was discharged from the hospital the next day.
Ms. Chavan was first taken to a local hospital in Ghatkopar, where an X-Ray was carried out but the bone could not be removed due to unavailability of a specialist. Dr. Helale said that a CT scan showed that the bone was stuck horizontally at the beginning of the food pipe and had damaged the tissues of the throat. “It was a complicated procedure as the bone was sharp on both sides,” said Dr. Helale adding that it was removed under endoscopic guidance with forceps.