The doctors couldn’t quite figure out what was wrong when they first began treating a baby at 4 1/2 months for wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing, treating him with medications and inhalations that did not seem to help.

Then the baby started vomiting.

A visit to the emergency room at the Assuta Ashdod Medical Center earlier this week at 6 months resulted in an X-ray that showed staples stuck inside the baby’s esophagus from a packet of staples he had swallowed weeks before. Some of the staples had become embedded in the esophageal walls, while others were linked together.

It took a team of pediatric gastroenterologists, pulmonologists, ENTs, and anesthesiologists to carefully extract the staples in a complex surgery that took an hour and a half to complete. The sites where the staples had pierced the esophagus were swollen and inflamed, so the baby was treated with antibiotics and fed with a feeding tube to give the esophagus time to heal.

Dr. Chani Oliveston, director of the Pediatric Gastroenterology Unit at Assuta Ashdod Hospital, explained the baby’s medical condition.

“The baby arrived at our hospital after a long period of coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing that did not go away despite the treatments he received,” she aid.

“In the case of a baby, who cannot explain what happened or whether he swallowed something, it is important to remember that a foreign object can also cause persistent symptoms,” she explained. “In this case, the staples had already caused inflammation, infection, and swelling in the esophagus, and the baby’s respiratory condition was not good. Fortunately, we were able to remove all the staples. The message to parents is simple: When symptoms continue and do not improve as expected, it is important to continue investigating the cause.”