Kolkata, Nov 15 Around a fortnight after accidentally swallowing a small magnet with his food, six-year-old Arafat Ali returned home on Sunday, days after doctors performed a rare procedure, using another magnet to pull out the irritant that caused breathing difficulties to the boy.
Arafat became cosy in the arms of his father Ali Akkas at their home in Maheshpur in Baduria in North 24 Parganas district on Sunday, as his parents thanked the doctors for saving their son’s life.
He was admitted to the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital on November 3 after developing breathing difficulties. Clinical examinations revealed he had swallowed a magnet and it was obstructing his breathing.
Initial attempts to remove the object proved unsuccessful as the amulet-shaped magnet had travelled through his airway and was lodged in the right bronchus, posing a serious threat to his life.
The medical team then devised an unusual solution: using another magnet to retrieve the object.
A tiny magnet was specially made by a Maniktala-based technician. It was then attached to a medical instrument to carefully pull out the swallowed object.
Doctors involved in the case said they could not recall a similar procedure being performed at any hospital in the country.
After Arafat was discharged on Sunday, his emotional father said he would remain grateful to the doctors for saving his son’s life.
“I will always remain indebted to the doctors… I do not know what would have happened to my son had they not been there,” he said.
The child’s mother, Jannatul Bibi, also recalled the difficult moments when the initial attempts to remove the magnet failed.
“The magnet could not be removed earlier in the operation theatre, but the doctors used another magnet to remove the object. After 13 days, I finally have my son back in my arms. I cannot thank the doctors enough,” she said.
(PTI News)
