In Delhi, a man had to be operated and parts of his stomach removed after consuming liquid nitrogen in a cocktail.
The man had drunk the cocktail nearly two months ago and ended up in the hospital where the doctors described his stomach was like an open book.
The cocktail that is served with liquid nitrogen is to be consumed after the liquid nitrogen evaporates but the man consumed the drink immediately.
After consuming the drink the man started having extreme pain in his stomach along with breathlessness, he was then rushed to a hospital.
Reports stated that once admitted his vitals were erratic and a CT scan was taken that showed free air in his abdominal cavity meaning there was a tear in his stomach.
Dr. Amit Deepta Goswami of Columbia Asia Hospital in Gurgaon, operated on the man. He said, “Consuming liquid nitrogen can cause havoc in a person’s system. By nature, liquid nitrogen expands manifolds and evaporates when left at room temperature. The gas did not have an escape route after the person consumed it and the sphincter closed, this is what led to a perforation (a hole) in his stomach.”
Generally, perforations in the stomach are small and can be sewed up but another surgeon said that this case was different and the tear was big and his lower and middle parts of his stomach “were open like a book.”
The doctors struggled with the surgery but they removed the damaged parts of his stomach and sewed up the remaining to his small intestine.
UK’s popular science writer, John Emsley explained the dangers of consuming liquid nitrogen, “If you drank more than a few drops of liquid nitrogen, certainly a teaspoon, it would freeze, and become solid and brittle like glass. Imagine if that happened in the alimentary canal or the stomach. The liquid also quickly picks up heat, boils and becomes a gas, which could cause damage such as perforations or cause a stomach to burst.”
