Horacio Rodriguez, 42, couldn't remember swallowing the pick but admitted he had been 'eating a load of appetisers at the end of last year'
A man is recovering after having a toothpick he accidentally swallowed nearly a year ago removed INTACT from his heart.
Stunned doctors only made the discovery during a seven-hour op on suffering Horacio Rodriguez, 42.
He was wrongly diagnosed with pneumonia after going to hospital in January with high fever.
Doctors also told him he had a heart infection and put him on antibiotics when he went for a second opinion after losing weight, coughing up blood and suffering chest pains.
Surgeons knew he had something inside his heart that shouldn’t be there before they opened him up at Hospital Fernandez in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.
Stabbing pains: The toothpick was removed intact from the patient's heart
They thought it might be a catheter inserted into Horacio when he had a blood transfusion as a teenager.
Describing the discovery of a toothpick as as' unique', hospital heart specialist Fernando Cichero said: “It was incredible when we operated on him.
“First we took the blood out of his heart and then we saw it clearly. It was a toothpick.
“Nobody could believe it at first.
"I’ve discussed it with colleagues in Argentina and other countries and no-one’s ever heard or seen anything like it before.
"I’m sure nothing like it is ever going to happen to me again.
“When Horacio came round and I told him what had been inside him, he began to laugh and admitted to having eaten a load of appetisers at the end of last year.”
Horacio, who has been told to rest but assured he won’t have any lasting health effects, added: “I’ve no idea when I swallowed the toothpick but can only assume it was during some sort of celebration.
“I was in and out of hospital for around six months because they didn’t know what was wrong.
Wooden heart: The pick had traveled through Horacio's oesophagus
“It was only after several ultrasound scans that a specialist saw something that hadn’t been picked up before and decided to operate on me thinking he’d found a catheter.
“It wasn’t until the last couple of months that I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.
"I’ve been told I can be back home by the middle of next week and I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’ve been told to rest and not drive a car or motorbike for two months and obviously avoid anything that involves toothpicks.
“Perhaps the next time I eat salami or cheese I’ll make sure they’ve got little flags attached to them so I can see them.”
In the picture: A surgeon's hand-drawn diagram of the procedure
Experts say they believe the toothpick could have entered his heart through his oesophagus or superior vena cava via his right atrium.
Toothpicks are one of the most common objects accidentally swallowed and can cause major health complications - although it is unheard of for them to reach the heart intact and stay stuck there for so long without causing death.
Posted by tboixy
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