A Miracle at Hadassah: 19 Magnets Removed From a Toddler’s Stomach After a Near-Fatal Emergency

What initially appeared to be a routine viral illness in an 18 month old toddler from Jerusalem ultimately led to the diagnosis of a life threatening condition and a complex medical intervention. Maayan, a pseudonym, was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital after an entire day of persistent vomiting. Doctors discovered that she had swallowed no fewer than 19 magnets, some of which had already trapped intestinal tissue and nearly caused a tear in her digestive tract.

Israeli news outlet Mako reported on Monday that, according to her father, the toddler had been completely healthy the previous day. “The day before, she was playing, eating, and happy. In the morning, she woke up in a completely different condition. We immediately saw that she was unwell and weak,” he said.

The family first took her to their local health clinic, where staff believed she was suffering from a virus. “They said this happens to many children, gave her medication, and told us she would feel better during the day,” the father said. However, the toddler’s condition continued to deteriorate rapidly. According to her father, she was unable to drink, and every attempt to eat or drink ended in vomiting.

Even after the family took her to another urgent care center, doctors were unable to determine the cause of her condition. “We stayed there for almost an entire day. We were under enormous stress, and she just kept vomiting,” he said. The turning point came when a family member who is a physician heard what had happened and urged them not to wait any longer, but to go immediately to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

Upon her arrival at the hospital, imaging tests revealed an unusual finding. Dr. Mordechai Slye, director of the hospital’s Interventional Gastroenterology Unit, said, “The scan showed a large number of magnets, and during the endoscopy, it became clear that there were even more than we had initially seen.” Doctors ultimately found 17 magnets in her stomach and two additional magnets that had already passed into her intestines.

According to Dr. Slye, this is one of the most dangerous scenarios involving the ingestion of foreign objects. “These are not small, weak magnets. They have extremely powerful magnetic force. When a child swallows more than one magnet, they can attract each other through the walls of the stomach or intestines, trapping tissue between them. The pressure they create can cause pressure sores, tissue death, intestinal perforations, severe infections, and even pose a threat to the child’s life. This is one of the most dangerous situations we encounter in cases involving swallowed foreign objects,” he said.

The medical team decided to try to avoid emergency surgery and remove the magnets through an endoscopic procedure. However, the powerful attraction between the magnets made the procedure especially complicated. “We could not remove them all together, but we also could not remove them individually. The magnets were pulling toward one another with tremendous force, and the equipment is not designed to withstand that level of power,” Dr. Slye explained.

He said the procedure required enormous patience and precision, as each magnet had to be released in a controlled manner. The team first succeeded in removing the main cluster of magnets. They then extracted a long chain of magnets that had connected to one another inside the digestive tract.

After the magnets were removed from the stomach, a follow up scan was performed. It revealed that two additional magnets had already reached the intestines. “They had literally trapped tissue between them. We could see that a tear in the digestive tract had nearly formed. Had the situation continued, the outcome could have been entirely different,” Dr. Slye said.

The two remaining magnets were ultimately removed successfully, sparing the toddler from emergency surgery. Shortly after the procedure, her condition improved significantly. The vomiting stopped, she resumed eating, and after several days of observation, she was discharged home in good condition.

The family said they still do not know how their daughter managed to swallow the magnets. “After we returned home, we went through every toy and object in the house, cleaned everything thoroughly, and removed anything that could be dangerous. But to this day, we still do not know how it happened. We are a normal, responsible family, and we had never experienced anything like this. If there is one thing we learned from this experience, it is to trust our instincts. We did not know there were magnets in her stomach, but we felt that something was not right,” the family said.

Dr. Slye concluded with an urgent message for parents: “In a case like this, you must not wait. Unlike most foreign objects, magnets can cause severe damage even when the child initially appears to be in good condition. Any suspicion that a child has swallowed magnets requires immediate medical evaluation.”