Doctors Save Infant After Plastic Lodges in Her Windpipe

A 10-month-old infant was urgently taken to Almaty’s Children’s City Clinical Hospital No. 2 after developing a severe cough, vomiting, and breathing problems. Doctors quickly suspected a blocked airway caused by a foreign object. The child arrived in critical condition, sedated and on mechanical ventilation. An emergency telemedicine consultation had already guided her transfer by medical aircraft.

A bronchoscopy confirmed the presence of a 1.5 × 1.0 cm piece of rigid, clear plastic with sharp edges in her trachea. Surgeons removed the object successfully. Without this intervention, the blockage could have worsened, leading to total airway obstruction and severe respiratory failure. The infant is now breathing without assistance but remains in hospital for treatment of bilateral pneumonia. Doctors say the prompt medical response prevented a potentially fatal outcome.