TOKYO (Reuters)
An 80-year-old Japanese man choking on
''devil's tongue'' was saved by a quick-thinking
emergency
medical worker and a relative who dislodged the stuck
food with a vacuum cleaner, fire officials
said Saturday.
The suburban Osaka resident was eating sukiyaki Saturday night
with his family when the chewy food got
lodged in his throat, they said. Devil's tongue, a grey, spongy
paste made from arum root, is often used in
Japanese stews and hot pots.
The man fell unconscious and the emergency rescue dispatcher,
who responded to a call from the family,
advised them at first of other ways of
saving him.
When they failed, the dispatcher instructed the man's
25-year-old granddaughter on the proper way to insert the
vacuum cleaner tube into the choking man's mouth. The
granddaughter then flipped the switch on the vacuum
cleaner, and out came the devil's tongue, a local fire official
said.
``The use of the vacuum cleaner was the absolute last resort,''
the fire official said.
The man regained consciousness by the time the ambulance arrived
and was expected to make a
complete
recovery, he said.
``About two or three times a year we advise the use of a vacuum
cleaner to aid a choking victim. Most of the
cases occur around New Year when senior citizens choke on chewy
rice cakes (a seasonal food),'' he said.
