"The sharp edges of the object had become stuck right above the entrance to the girl's esophagus and had to be removed immediately and under general anaesthesia,” Udio Katzanel, a doctor in the children’s emergency department at Kaplan Hospital, told Central European News. (Photo credit CEN)
Doctors who treated a toddler whose cough wouldn’t subside found the source of her discomfort was a Star of David pendant that became lodged in her throat, Central European News (CEN) reported.
Sharon Asraf, the mother of 20-month-old Talia, who swallowed the pendant, said her daughter voiced that she had swallowed something, so she took her to the Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot, in western Israel.
According to CEN, Udio Katzanel, a doctor in the children’s emergency department at Kaplan, identified the pendant in an X-ray.
"The sharp edges of the object had become stuck right above the entrance to the girl's esophagus and had to be removed immediately and under general anaesthesia,” Katzanel told CEN.
Katzanel and a team of surgeons used an endoscopic device to examine Talia’s throat then used micro-surgical clamps to remove it carefully.
"Luckily, the pendant had not caused any damage to her throat and nearby organs,” he said.
As Talia recovers, doctors advised her parents to watch for signs of difficulty swallowing and coughing, as well as fever, and advised them to bring her back to the hospital if she exhibits any of those symptoms.
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