Those are some of the weird items that have been removed from kids’ throats, nostrils and ears by doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital and are included in a macabre, yet important, display.
A visitor’s first reaction might be to laugh at the framed collection of dozens of items that dates to 1918 and hangs at the entrance to the hospital’s ear, nose and throat department, but it’s also a reminder to the parents who walk past it every day to remain vigilant.
“It is definitely something that catches the eyes of parents and makes them think twice about what their kids are exposed to,” said Dr. Anne Hseu, a head and neck surgeon at Children’s who has removed Christmas ornaments, toys, carpet tacks and other items from young patients.
One of Hseu’s colleagues removed a rosary bead that had blocked a boy’s breathing passage. The boy might have died, but the bead lodged vertically, so he was able to get air through the bead’s threading hole.
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Medical museum stuff is so cool.
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