Smoky drink leaves man with hole in stomach

A drink at the end of a tiring day turned into a nightmare for a Delhi resident who was left with a 90mm hole in his stomach after gulping down a liquid nitrogen based cocktail.

The victim ordered a few rounds of drinks and some food at a bar in Gurugram but began to feel uncomfortable after consuming it. Assuming that he had acidity, the bartender suggested a tempting cold cocktail with smoke emanating from it. The man gulped it down and was writhing in pain in no time.

He was rushed to a hospital where the doctors discovered a big opening in the stomach.

“For patients with chronic acid problems, we can see perforations of 1-2 mm diameter. For him, it was a 90mm hole. The stomach was open like a book,” Amit Deepta Goswami, a consultant doctor at Columbia Asia Hospital in Gurugram, told DH.

The damage was caused by liquid nitrogen which was added to the drink to quickly cool it down and make it look attractive.

“While small perforations can be sewed up, it was not possible in this case. Almost 45% of the stomach was removed and the rest was connected to the small intestine,” Goswami said. The cocktail substantially damaged the nearby tissues as well.

The incident occurred in April and the patient is doing fine at the moment. He has since quit alcohol.

Liquid nitrogen has a boiling point of -195.8 degrees Celsius and is used to instantly freeze food and beverages. The colourless liquid is also used to cool computers and in cryogenic medical procedures. When used to freeze beverages, it should only be consumed after the nitrogen has completely evaporated.

Unfortunately, the victim did not wait for the smoke to evaporate.

Goswami said it was a rare case as the only other case known to him took place in the UK where an 18-year-old girl ended up in a hospital after celebrating her birthday at a bar.

Liquid nitrogen is permitted as an additive in frozen food as per the guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). But when it comes to the use of liquid nitrogen it is a grey area.