Boy swallows battery and survives after it stays stuck in his throat for 5 weeks
A 5-year-old boy's "ear infection" turned out to be a battery lodged in his throat for five weeks.
Luke McMillan, from Arizona, US, was an energetic little toddler who was prone to the odd ear infection as he would often rub his ears.
Mum Erica McMillan took him to the doctors to get checked out and he was given antibiotics and told the infection will eventually clear up.
He seemed to get better and was on the up, however, Luke was struggling to swallow solid foods as he would bring them back up.
Luke's parents decided to switch his diet from solids to liquids to make sure he was still able to eat.
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Erica told The State: "We just assumed it was a side effect because he’s kind of done that before where he doesn’t really want to eat anything."
Luke was told by doctors he had an ear infection (Erica McMillan)But after the toddler finished his course of antibiotics he was still unable to swallow objects.
His mum returned him to the doctor who couldn't find anything wrong with him and said it was probably a reflux problem.
Erica was given a prescription but she knew there was something else wrong with him.
She decided to take him to a different paediatrician who ordered an x-ray of Luke's chest, which left the medics with a stunned expression.
A second opinion led to an x-ray which revealed the battery (Erica McMillan)
As the battery was wrapped in electrical tape it most likely saved his life, according to the doctor (Erica McMillan)“I saw them get a weird look on their face,” she said.
Doctors asked Erica if Luke had swallowed a coin or wore a collar with a button, which she said no, as the family don't keep batteries in their home.
He was then rushed to hospital.
“(The doctors) were like, ‘there is no way it could be a battery because those … start corroding after just two hours.’”
Luke's parents were told by doctors there was something silver in his chest but it would be dangerous to pull the object out without a full operating team.
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Instead he was told the next day Luke would have lifesaving surgery which would likely take four hours.
The surgery took an hour (Erica McMillan)However, just an hour into surgery, one of the doctors came out and told Erica they had found a lithium battery stuck to the inside of Luke’s oesophagus.
But as it was wrapped in electrical tape it most likely saved his life, according to the doctor.
It had remained lodged in Luke's throat for five weeks and had damaged the oesophageal tissue, which surgeons will attempt to repair.
Doctors have been slowly trying to enlarge Luke’s throat again but it is a process which takes time and plenty of surgeries.
However, Erica revealed Luke is on the path to recovery as "he was able to eat a banana" for the first time in six months.
She warned other parents to be aware of batteries in the house.
Erica added: "We’ve gone through all of our toys and are taking out everything that has those type of batteries and we just don’t have them anymore.”
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