Wenzhou doctors remove mercury thermometer lodged in patient for 20 years

A 32-year-old man in Wenzhou, China, underwent surgery to remove a mercury thermometer that had been lodged in his duodenum for 20 years. The patient, identified as Wang, originally swallowed the object accidentally when he was 12 years old but did not inform his parents at the time due to fear.

Wang sought medical attention at the Wenzhou Medical University Affiliated Hospital after experiencing persistent abdominal pain. Medical imaging revealed the foreign object in the first part of the small intestine. Doctors noted that the tip of the thermometer was pressing against the intestinal wall, posing a significant risk of perforation and internal hemorrhage. Additionally, the presence of mercury presented a toxicological risk should the glass casing have broken.

The surgical procedure lasted approximately 20 minutes, and the thermometer was extracted nearly intact. The patient had remained largely asymptomatic for two decades, leading him to forget the incident until the recent onset of pain.