Wash. man accidentally eats steel bristle at barbecue

TACOMA, Wash. -- A Tacoma man needed emergency surgery after accidentally eating a steel bristle from a grill brush he used during a barbecue.

KING 5 reported that Adam Wojtanowicz went to the hospital Sunday complaining of abdominal pain that wouldn't go away despite his taking medication. Doctors found a metal bristle on a CT scan and performed surgery to get it out.

Wojtanowicz said he recently hosted a cookout, and he thinks a steel bristle from his grill brush fell onto his steak. He said he apparently swallowed the metal without realizing it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it knows of at least six people who have recently suffered similar, potentially fatal, injuries. It doesn't blame a particular brand or type of brush.

Wojtanowicz is expected to recover.