Kyle Lewis: Death of boy who inhaled drawing pin an accident - coroner

Kyle Lewis inhaled a drawing pin at his uncle's home in 2022

Medical teams "did their best" to save the life of a boy who had inhaled a drawing pin, 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 taken to Rotherham General Hospital where surgeons tried without success to remove the pin before he was transferred to Leeds where he died.

Coroner Louise Slater recorded a verdict of accidental death after a four-day inquest in Doncaster.

After delivering her ruling, Ms Slater expressed her personal condolences to Kyle's family.

"While many people will have pictured the scene in the operating theatre, his parents would prefer us to remember the Kyle they knew who was much loved, sadly missed and forever cherished," she said.

In a statement, read out at the end of the hearing, Kyle's family described him as their "cheeky and fun-loving, blue-eyed boy".

"The pain we feel at the loss of our little boy is beyond words, there is not a day that goes by that we still don't think about Kyle," they said.

"Every day we make sure that we say to him 'we loved you then, we love you still, we always have, we always will'."

Kyle with his mum Ema Lewis

The family said Kyle had been born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and he had been their "miracle baby" who proved a "fighter" to the end.

They also thanked hospital staff in Leeds for their "care and compassion".

"Nothing was too much as they knew every minute and second with Kyle was so important as it could be our last."

Earlier, the inquest was told paramedics who attended the incident made the decision Kyle needed urgent hospital treatment and Rotherham was the closest site.

On arrival, surgeons tried to remove the almost 1in (2.5cm) pin manually, but it was pointing upwards and they could not grip it with forceps.

A decision was then made to try an emergency tracheostomy as the boy's airway was partially blocked, starving his brain of oxygen.

However, he went into cardiac arrest during the procedure and was bleeding heavily.

'Did their best'

Dr Geoffrey Perring, a consultant at Sheffield Children's Hospital, was asked to review the care he received.

He said the decision to take the boy to Rotherham had been the "correct one" and added that an emergency tracheostomy was rare.

Dr Perring said the situation in surgery was "not chaotic" but made criticisms of subsequent notes and records.

He said the medical team "did their best" in the situation they were placed in.

Asked if the outcome for Kyle would have been different had he been taken to a specialist children's hospital, Dr Perring said the chances would have been better, but only marginally.

After Kyle was stabilised he was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, where a CT scan revealed the extent of brain damage he had suffered due to a lack of oxygen.

His parents then made the decision to turn off his life support system and he died on 28 October.