The crunchy texture of a snack can be shockingly interrupted by something unexpected. A South American woman was taken to a hospital after she swallowed a nail while eating from a bag of pork rinds.
Celia Tello was enjoying her snack of pork rinds back in February 2024 when she felt something sharp hit her throat. At first, the 68-year-old thought the mysterious object was a bone but it turned out to be a nail instead.
The Peruvian resident soon fell ill and began vomiting blood. After being taken to an emergency room, doctors discovered that the nail was piercing one of her carotid arteries, which is meant to help supply oxygen and blood to the brain.
“It never crossed my mind I had this nail or piece of wire,” Tello said.
Fortunately, Surgeon Diego Cuipal and his team were able to perform a “careful dissection” to safely remove the nail from her body. There was a risk of “detaching a clot that could reach the brain” but doctors conducted the surgery successfully.
“We were able to isolate the affected artery and we repaired it by sectioning it and we joined a healthy artery with another healthy artery,” Cuipal said.
Tello has since recovered from surgery but does have a scar on her neck from the procedure.