Boy survives after having an eight-inch chopstick stuck in his throat

The two-year-old, nicknamed Lin Lin, was eating an apple on the wooden stick while riding a bicycle when he lost balance and fell onto the utensil, reported local media.

Lin Lin survived and is recovering at a hospital in Nanjing, eastern China, after undergoing an emergency operation.

The accident occurred on November 29 when the boy was being looked after by his grandmother at their home, according to local newspaper Modern Express.

While the toddler was riding on his bicycle, the grandparent gave him a slice of apple as a snack.

She placed the fruit on a chopstick so that the child could eat it without his unwashed hands.

When the grandmother was not paying attention, Lin Lin left the room with his toy bike while still eating the apple.

He suddenly lost balance and fell to the ground, forcing the chopstick into his mouth.

The chopstick rammed through Lin Lin's throat and got stuck there. It was said to be lodged in Lin Lin's neck so deep that doctors could see it protruding at the back of his neck under his skin.

The child was rushed to the Nanjing Children's Hospital where doctors examined the young patient with a CT scan. 

An X-ray picture shows the wooden stick, measuring over 20 centimetres (7.8 inches), with most of it skewered across the toddler's throat as the tip was poking under the skin from the back of Lin Lin's neck.

'The chopsticks did not injure the child's food pipe and windpipe,' a medic later told reporters. 

'But it could still damage the vertebral artery and cervical nerves during the operation to cause haemorrhage, which is life-threatening.'

Lin Lin was immediately scheduled to undergo an emergency operation to remove the chopstick.

He was transferred to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for observation following the successful operation.

After being given round-the-clock care for over a week, the toddler is recovering well and has resumed a normal diet, the hospital told the press.

The medics also warned that parents should always keep an eye on their children and not let them play with sharp objects, especially when they're eating.

Msn