Dried apricots • Danger of life-threatening intestinal blockage

(haipo) – Two whole apricots caused a life-threatening intestinal blockage, and were removed from the body of a 60-year-old patient, in an emergency operation at the Galilee Medical Center. The dried apricots, which were discovered in the small intestine, caused a life-threatening intestinal blockage, and were removed in a laparoscopic operation.

The Galilee Medical Center gave a speech : Doctors at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya have seen almost everything possible, but it is doubtful that anything like this has been seen in recent years. In an emergency operation, and after a complete intestinal obstruction was discovered, two dried apricots were removed from a patient's body, which she had swallowed whole.
Surgeon Dr. Walid Kassis: "They took in water and their stomachs swelled dangerously"

A 60-year-old resident of Jadida-Makhar arrived at the emergency department (ED) at the medical center with symptoms of abdominal swelling, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diffuse (widespread) sensitivity to touch in various parts of the abdomen.
From a medical examination, it became clear that the woman had recently suffered a stroke and that she was suffering from multiple underlying illnesses. An abdominal CT scan revealed a complete intestinal obstruction, with a suspected foreign body in the small intestine, which caused the loops of the small intestine to dilate up to 3.5 cm, and a life-threatening condition.

Due to her critical condition, the woman was admitted for urgent, life-saving surgery, which was performed by Dr. Cassis using a laparoscopic approach (minimally invasive surgery), through three small incisions in the abdominal wall. During the surgery, the blocked area of ​​the intestine was released and a large foreign body was identified in the small intestine, which was removed using a laparoscope.
Upon retrieving it, it turned out that it was two dried apricots, which were swallowed whole by the patient.
The woman was hospitalized in good condition in Surgery Department A, and was released a few days later.

Dr. Cassis"The apricots absorbed water and swelled in the stomach, causing intestinal obstruction and immediate life-threatening conditions."
He also added that due to the patient's multiple underlying illnesses, especially heart failure and the fact that she was receiving blood-thinning medications, it was important to avoid open-access surgery, which in her condition could have led to significant complications.