An 8-year-old boy from Jerusalem is recovering after undergoing two emergency surgeries at Hadassah Medical Center when a swallowed button battery caused severe burns to his esophagus.

According to the boy’s family, he was playing with a drawing tablet when its battery died. After removing the small button battery, he later put it in his mouth out of curiosity, and it accidentally slipped down his throat. Realizing what had happened, he immediately alerted his parents, who rushed him to the hospital.

Doctors said the family’s quick response was critical. Upon arrival, physicians immediately administered honey to help reduce the battery’s chemical damage before rushing the child into emergency surgery to remove it. Despite the successful removal, doctors found significant burns to the esophagus, requiring a second operation to prevent life-threatening complications.

Dr. Mordechai Slai, a pediatric gastroenterology specialist at Hadassah, warned that button battery ingestion is among the most dangerous emergencies in pediatric medicine. Unlike coins or other swallowed objects, button batteries can rapidly create a chemical reaction that burns through tissue, potentially causing permanent injury, massive bleeding, or even death.

Doctors emphasized that children who swallow button batteries require close monitoring even after the battery is removed, as tissue damage can continue to worsen for days or even weeks. Hadassah urged parents to seek immediate emergency care if a button battery is suspected to have been swallowed and not to wait for it to pass on its own.

The boy is recovering after the lifesaving procedures, and his parents hope their ordeal serves as a warning for other families to keep button batteries out of children’s reach.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)