The man's stomach was like an 'open book' when the doctors treated him and were uncertain whether his life could be saved.
Gas from liquid nitrogen was unable to escape, creating a hole
Recently, a 30-year old businessman visited a pub in Gurgaon with his friends to enjoy some cocktails. He was served a drink with liquid nitrogen. The man gulped down the drink before the smoke could rise and instantly felt breathless. Ignoring the sensation, the man downed another glass and that was it. He was rushed to Columbia Asia Hospital as he complained of excruciating pain. His stomach was abnormally swollen and he felt bloated. His heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation were also all haywire.
According to doctors at the hospital, a hole had formed because the gas released by drink had no route to escape and the sphincter closed since the function of the sphincter is to prevent movement of acidic contents into the esophagus or to the intestines.
Dr Amit Deepta Goswami, the person's doctor and consultant of bariatric and minimally invasive surgery says that the man's lactic acid levels were also very high. There was oxygen deprivation and so the man was put on the ventilator for 3 days.
It was also not possible to stitch back the stomach since the hole was very large and tissue near the tear was also damaged. Hence, the portion of the stomach was removed. The doctors called his stomach an 'open book'. This condition was identified through a CT scan that showed free air in his abdominal cavity and raised suspicions of a tear.
So why did it happen?
Liquid nitrogen is used to freeze ice cream instantaneously and it's also used in cryogenic medical procedures like removing warts and cancerous tissues by freezing them. It has a boiling point of -195.8 degree celsius, which is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the substance is equal to the pressure of gas over it. This means that it's colder than the coldest place on earth, which is Oymyakon, Russia, a village with average temperature of -50 degree celsius. It's expansion ratio is 1:694 at 20 degree celsius, meaning that 1 litre of liquid nitrogen at 20 degree celsius can expand to 694 litres of nitrogen gas. And, as it evaporates, it freezes everything around it, including tissues that come in contact with it.
The incident happened two months ago and the man has been recuperating since. "I have stopped drinking since," he says.
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