Barbecue brush bristle pierces man’s oesophagus

A Brisbane man has spent three days in hospital after a tiny wire bristle from a barbecue brush pierced his throat.

Bruce Victor, 56, from Wakerley, swallowed the bristle at a pre-Christmas dinner and immediately knew something was wrong.

“Halfway through my steak, all of a sudden, (I felt) a really sharp stabbing pain in my throat,” Mr Victor said.

The family rushed Mr Victor to hospital where an X-ray revealed the wire had pierced his oesophagus and lodged near his spine.

“Initially on the first pass, everybody missed the wire, but the radiologist reviewed the x-rays,” he said.

“We looked at one particular section and quick as a flash up came the wire poking right through the side of my throat.”

Mr Victor guessed what had happened straight away.

“The steak didn't have any bones in it, and I just thought what's happened - straight away I thought about the bristles coming out the wire brush I used to rub down the barbecue.”

Mr Victor will make a full recovery, after three days in hospital and a round of antibiotics.

The incident isn’t isolated. Surgeons in Canada have called for the brushes to be banned there, after dozens of similar cases.