Video: Chopstick Enters Nose and Pierces Brain in Child

A reader recently emailed me this amazing AP video of a 14-month-old toddler who was playing in the kitchen when he fell, sending a chopstick up thru his nose and into his brain. Surgeons were able to remove the chopstick and the child did just fine.

However, it is quite likely this child has now permanently lost his sense of smell (anosmia) since the smell nerve is located where the chopstick entered the brain (cribiform plate). There is no way to "fix" nerve damage in this area after it has occurred (at this time).

Such trauma like this is unfortunately not uncommon, though not with such precise nasal entrance into the brain. More commonly, I've seen mouth and oral injury rather than nasal (fork or chopstick in the mouth while a child is playing).