Girl in UAE chokes on bone as she eats chicken and rice, rushed to hospital

Ras Al Khaimah - The hospital she was taken to first was not equipped to handle the case.

A young woman who choked on a chicken bone while having dinner in Ras Al Khaimah was saved after she was rushed to the hospital.

Gastroenterologists at Ibrahim Bin Hamad Obaidullah Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah, attended to the patient who was rushed to the emergency room with serious respiratory problems, said Dr Mariam Al Khatri, Head Gastroenterologist at the hospital.

"The young woman, in her 20s, was having her favourite Maqluba, a traditional meal of rice and chicken, with her family when she suddenly stopped eating, coughed loudly non-stop and went blue."  

The family rushed her to a hospital, where it was found that she had swallowed a 3cm chicken bone, Dr Khatri explained.

"The young woman was seriously choked and could not breathe in a normal way, and the specialists at that other hospital could not handle the situation as the bone went deep into the esophagus and below the larynx."

The young woman was referred to Obaidullah hospital, where she was immediately sent to the radiology section.

"The x-ray images taken showed the exact place and size of the chicken bone, which was successfully taken out by, with no side-effects at all."

The young woman said she did not notice the chicken bone while eating rice.

"Thankfully, the bone was safely removed without further complications," she said, advising the public to chew food well before swallowing it.

"Also make sure that the food you are eating, mainly rice, is free from such bones that make seriously block your respiratory paths."

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Ras Al Khaimah