Sword swallower wounded during performance

A drunkard unexpectedly pumped into a young sword swallower who was performing at a wedding party in the southern province of Vinh Long, causing the sword to pierce through the performer’s gullet.

The accident happened to C, a native of Vinh Long, when he was swallowing a sword at a local wedding party on December 31, 2012.

After being bumped into, C took the sword out of his throat and felt sharp pain inside his chest.

When C was taken to Vinh Long General Hospital, he suffered a tight chest pain and had difficulty breathing.

After finding C’s esophagus pierced with a pointed object, doctors transferred him to the Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on January 1, 2013.

C was diagnosed with mediastinal abscess and doctors performed surgeries on him to stitch the hole in his esophagus and to open his stomach to feed him with food, said Dr Pham Van Dong, head of the hospital’s Department of Surgery and Anesthesiology.

After the surgeries, C was not able to breathe himself, so has been put on a respirator.

Mediastinal abscess is a rare presentation of infections involving the mediastinum. It requires costly treatment and has a high risk of death.

Nguyen Thu Hieu, 53, C’s mother, said C learned sword swallowing two years ago and has been practicing the art for a year at wedding parties or restaurants in Vinh Long.