Indore: Fish Lodged in One-Year-Old’s Throat; Swallowed While Playing—Doctors Save Life Through Surgery

A startling incident has come to light in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A one-year-old child accidentally swallowed a live fish while playing, causing it to become lodged in his throat. The incident occurred while family members were cleaning the aquarium at home.

The fish became stuck in the child's throat, leaving him unable to breathe properly or even cry. He was immediately rushed to MY Hospital, where doctors successfully performed surgery to save his life.

The ENT Department at Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital (MYH) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, encountered a case that left even the most experienced doctors astonished. A live fish had become lodged in the throat of a mere one-year-old child, which doctors managed to extract only after a painstaking effort.

The family members explained that, while playing, a small live fish had inadvertently entered the child's mouth and subsequently got stuck in his throat. By the time the child was brought to MY Hospital, his condition was critical; he was neither able to cry nor breathe properly.

According to the doctors, the child was exhibiting symptoms such as difficulty breathing, agitation, restlessness, and bleeding from the mouth. The greatest challenge during the surgery was the fact that the fish was still alive. The movement of the fish's gills and fins posed a significant risk of injuring the child's larynx (voice box) and esophagus (food pipe).

Given the severity of the case, Dr. Yamini Gupta, Head of the ENT Department, immediately alerted the emergency team without wasting any time.

With extreme caution, the doctors successfully extracted a Gourami fish measuring approximately 3 inches. Following the procedure, the child's breathing normalized, and his condition stabilized.

The child, a resident of Khajrana, had the fish lodged in his throat. The incident occurred while the aquarium at home was being cleaned. The child is now in perfect health. The fish, which measured over 2 centimeters in size, has been successfully removed.

Summary

Experts warn that such incidents can be extremely dangerous for young children, as their windpipes are narrow, and even a minor obstruction can prove fatal. Therefore, parents are advised to keep small objects—or any other potentially hazardous items—out of their children's reach and to supervise them closely.