Saudi surgeon saves man's life after swallowing car key

A medical team in Al-Qunfudah (western Saudi Arabia) succeeded in extracting a car key from the respiratory tract of a male patient -who almost lost his life- in a quick endoscopic operation that took 15 minutes.

Saudi Health confirmed that medical teams were able on Tuesday, July 11, to save the life of a 49-year-old patient who arrived at the emergency department suffering from a blockage in his airway, where, after a clinical examination and X-rays, it turned out that a car key was stuck in the trachea.

The patient, who admitted to doctors that he was playing with the key in his mouth, accidentally swallowed it, causing partial suffocation, which required surgical intervention by laparoscopy to extract the metal object.

The patient, who turned out to suffer from heart disease, is waiting for his health to stabilize, and he will be discharged to complete his recovery at home.