Doctors in the UAE have successfully operated on a 13-year-old girl who accidentally swallowed a 2.5cm pin that settled near ​​her heart.

Medics at Al Ain Hospital said the teenager was putting on her head scarf when the sharp object slipped down her throat.

A series of scans revealed the pin had become stuck in one of the lower bronchi of the left lung, adjacent to the heart muscle.

Following a local anesthetic, doctors managed to insert an endoscope and successfully remove the pin without causing any internal bleeding.

“This case was extremely sensitive due to the location of the pin,” said Dr Saber Al Mishal, head of the pulmonology department at Al Ain Hospital.

“Our doctors had to carefully remove the pin without touching the heart or puncturing any veins or arteries that may have caused major internal bleeding.

“Their steady hands and vast intricacy allowed the young girl to leave the hospital the same day of the procedure.”