Doctor says cases are rare, but very preventable

Doctor says cases are rare, but very preventable

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Doctor says cases are rare, but very preventable

The thin wire bristles on some grill brushes don't look like much — that is until you eat one.

That's what Jeffrey Czaplinski said happened to him after his family hosted an outdoor barbecue.

"We had a great time," he said. "Got compliments on the burgers."

The next morning, Czaplinski felt a pain in his stomach, but it went away.

When the pain returned that night, he left for Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

"I was sort of hobbling towards the ER, clutching the side of my stomach," Czaplinski said.

A CT scan showed the source of his pain in black and white.

Stuck through the wall of his stomach was a wire bristle that was about 5 cm long.

It had broken off his grill brush.

"This is obviously a sharp piece of metal," said Dr. Charu Paranjape, Newton-Wellesley's chief of general surgery. "It can cause significant bleeding."

He was on call when Czaplinski came in.

"It clearly was probably stuck to a piece of meat that was grilled on the barbecue," Paranjape said.

He worried the wire would cause a leak where stomach acid and bacteria could enter the abdomen, raising the risk for septic shock.

As a result, four hours after arriving in the emergency room, Czaplinski was now in the operating room undergoing an emergency procedure to remove it.

"I knew how serious this really could have been and how lucky I was that this was like a pinprick," he said.

Now back at his grill, Czaplinski realizes just how lucky his friends and family have been as well.

"They're everywhere," he said, pointing to broken wire bristles around the grate. "They're sticking out of the burners. They're in the char."

Czaplinski has already replaced the old grill brush with a new one that's safer.

"It didn't look like it was falling apart, but it was," he said.

Experts emphasize these cases are rare, but very preventable.

They suggest tossing the wire brush in the trash.

A list of safer alternatives includes a grill stone or a coiled brush. Another option is crumpling aluminum foil to clean the grate after it cools.

Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.