Rotherham boy who inhaled drawing pin suffered brain damage - inquest

Kyle Lewis died in 2022 after inhaling a drawing pin

A boy who died after inhaling a drawing pin suffered extensive brain damage, an inquest has heard.

Kyle Lewis, five, died in October 2022 after inhaling the pin at his uncle's home in Thrybergh, Rotherham.

He was initially treated at Rotherham General Hospital and was then transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where he died two days later.

An inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court heard the boy suffered four cardiac arrests lasting a total of 40 mins.

Dr Tim Heywood, a paediatric consultant at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said the location of the drawing pin and the fact it had become embedded in a side wall of Kyle's throat made it difficult to remove.

He said that, combined with having to perform heart massage on such a small boy, made for a poor prognosis.

Kyle with his mum Ema Lewis

Dr Heywood said a decision was made to pause further surgery to remove the almost 1in (2.5cm) pin until a CT scan had been performed.

He said it revealed the extent of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen during the four cardiac arrests, one lasting for more than 30 minutes, Kyle had suffered.

The boy's parents then made the decision to turn off his life support system and he died on 28 October.

Dr Heywood was asked if Kyle would have still been in a life-threatening situation had he lived closer to the hospital and had been taken straight there.

He replied: "Yes, sadly so".

The inquest is due to conclude on Thursday.