Chinese boy returns from dead as doctors restart heart after 30 minutes

Doctors in southern China revived a toddler more than 30 minutes after his heart stopped when he choked on a piece of banana.

The one-year-old was resuscitated as five doctors took turns to perform cardiac massage at a hospital in Foshan, Guangdong province, on the weekend, Guangzhou Daily reported.

One doctor described the child’s recovery as “a miracle”, while the hospital said the boy’s vital signs were stable but he was comatose and his breathing was assisted by a machine.

The child was taken to the Shunde Women and Children’s Hospital on Sunday night after his mother – identified by her surname Lin – found him suffocating.

Lin said she had given him a banana while they were shopping and, 10 minutes later, the child began to struggle for breath, the report said.

By the time they arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later, his breathing and heart had stopped.

Doctors applied pressure to his chest 3,600 times during cardiac massage, the report said.

“After 30 minutes the child regained weak heartbeats … we were excited at that moment. A miracle happened,” Lin Jian, who took part in the procedure, was quoted as saying.

Doctors removed a piece of banana from the boy’s throat.

Despite of the success of the emergency treatment, the boy’s outlook was far from good, another doctor was quoted as saying.

“Even when he wakes up, he might suffer cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and mental retardation” as a result of his trauma, said Deng Minghong.

Source: scmp.com