Vietnamese doctors save Laotian boy with needle piercing his heart

A Laotian boy is recovering from a rare heart injury after doctors in Vietnam's central province of Nghe An successfully removed a needle that had been inside his chest.

The 5-year-old Ha Ba Xai was admitted to Nghe An Obstetric Hospital last month for chest pain. According to his family, the pain had persisted for two weeks despite Xai receiving treatments from doctors in Laos.

After giving the boy chest X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans, doctors discovered a 5-centimeter (2-inch) needle piercing the membranes of Xai's heart and left lung, as well as his heart muscle.

The needle is suspected to have entered Xai's chest after he swallowed it while playing unsupervised.

Doctors at Nghe An Obstetric Hospital subsequently performed a surgery to safely remove the foreign object with assistance from Hanoi Heart Hospital.

Xai is still recovering from the surgery but is well enough to be discharged and return home, the hospital announced Saturday.