Boy survives chopstick in his brain

A Chinese toddler is recovering in hospital after accidentally pushing a chopstick up his nose and into his brain.

Fourteen-month-old Li Jingchao, from the eastern province of Shandong, was playing with the chopsticks when he fell and began crying.

Because local hospitals did not have the technology to safely remove the chopstick, Li's parents travelled 10 hours north by car to Beijing.

The boy arrived with a high fever and an irregular heartbeat and neurosurgeons were concerned the removal of the chopstick, which was lodged four millimetres into Li's brain, would cause internal haemorrhaging once removed - possibly producing paralysis or even death.

"Luckily, the removal resulted in little bleeding and he suffered only an infection," a hospital spokesman said.

He said Li's surgeon was perfect for the job since he had extensive experience with surgeries involving chopsticks lodged in eyes, foreheads and necks.