Man Undergoes Surgery After Accidentally Swallowing Bread Bag Clip, Surgeons Want Change in Clip Design

After a man underwent a surgery to remove a bread bag clip that he accidently swallowed, surgeons in Australia have urged the authorities to change the design of the clip. A 47-year-old man, who had an abdominal pain for two months, reported to Adelaide's Queen Elizabeth Hospital last year. A three-dimensional scan revealed that the jaws of a bread clip had got fixed to the intestinal wall.

The man needed a surgery to remove the clip where the intestine was temporarily removed out of the body.

His case is published in a paper by University of Adelaide on the basis of which experts have demanded that bag clips be made from starch instead of plastic.

Co-author Professor Guy Maddern from the University of Adelaide said this was an uncommon but recurring problem. “There have been previous reports of gastrointestinal bleeding being caused by bread clips, and in rare cases there have been fatalities,” he said.

Another patient from the same hospital had also suffered internal bleeding after swallowing a bread bag clip.

Professor Maddern said clip made of starch would dissolve if swallowed accidently and the person would not need a surgery which is life-threatening for some people.

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About eight years ago, surgeons had highlighted the point of changing the clip design because of previous cases of accidental swallowing and bowel obstruction, particularly in elderly patients.

Source-Medindia