Life-saving innovation: Doctors use creative technique to remove inhaled grape
A 73-year-old man was rushed to Kaplan Medical Center with a collapsed lung after inhaling a whole grape. Doctors successfully extracted the fruit using a unique method involving a Fogarty catheter.
Ari (a pseudonym), 73, a resident of a nursing home in the Shefela region, was found by care staff on the dining room floor struggling to breathe. Emergency teams identified low oxygen saturation but could not immediately determine the cause. After receiving respiratory support, he was evacuated urgently to the Kaplan Medical Center.
In the emergency room, doctors suspected an airway obstruction. A comprehensive examination revealed a whole grape lodged deep in the left main bronchus, causing a full collapse of the left lung. The patient was in critical condition and was rushed to the operating room.
During a bronchoscopy, doctors found that standard forceps failed to extract the fruit because its skin was too smooth and fragile, causing it to slip repeatedly. Recognizing that conventional methods were insufficient, the medical team devised a creative solution: they created a small opening in the center of the grape and inserted a Fogarty catheter—typically used for vascular procedures—which features a tiny balloon at its tip. They inflated the balloon beyond the grape and successfully extracted it in its entirety.
Following the procedure, Ari recovered fully. This unusual case was recently published in the scientific journal Respiratory Medicine.
"We had to think outside the box. Aspiration of a foreign body in children and adults is a medical emergency that can lead to respiratory collapse and even death," explains Dr. Evgeny Gershman, Director of the Institute of Pulmonology at Kaplan Medical Center. "In this case, it was a complete blockage that put the patient in immediate life-threatening danger. The use of the catheter allowed us to extract the grape without damage to the lung and without the need for more complex surgery."
Dr. Yael Shapira-Glitz, Deputy Director of the Otolaryngology Department, added that the combination of technical skill and multidisciplinary cooperation was key to their success. She noted that the technique, which combines creating a channel inside the foreign body with the use of a dedicated catheter, serves as a vital new tool in the medical arsenal for similar cases.
