The 18-year-old woman, named by newspapers as Gaby Scanlon, complained of breathlessness and gastric pain before being rushed to a hospital in the northern English city of Lancaster on Thursday where she was diagnosed with a perforated stomach.
Scanlon is currently in serious but stable condition, local police said in a statement over the weekend.
"Medical opinion is that this would have proved fatal had the operation not been carried out urgently," police said.
When exposed to air, liquid nitrogen creates a dense fog and is used by bartenders and chefs to add an element of visual drama to dishes or to freeze things quickly, such as ice cream.
It is also used for removing warts and has industrial uses. Contact with flesh can cause cryogenic burn or "frostbite".
Professor of food physics at Leeds University Malcolm Povey said liquid nitrogen should not be consumed while still liquid, as it turns into a gas inside the body and causes the stomach to swell and burst.
"The liquid nitrogen would rapidly change into gas and blow the stomach up like a balloon...the idea that people put this stuff in drinks is just unbelievable," Povey told Reuters.
The bar which served the drink has stopped selling all liquid nitrogen drinks, said police, who are investigating the incident.
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They are not selling it anymore? How about close the place. That`s why I love USA, If it was in here the bar would be closed already.
So how about if all of you 'rocket scientists' and 'brain surgeons' who are atleast 'a little intelligent' recite the properties and possible effects of physical contact, of every element in the periodic table right now.
WTF! Making a drink with LIQUID NITROGEN??? And acctually DRINKING IT? That is beyond stupid. Whoever thought this idea up and those who acctually made/drank it should be awarded the Nobel Prize for making everyone else in the entire world a genius in comparison. This is hands down one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of.
We should build some bars in the middle of the desert along the US/Mexican border and serve these kind of drinks ALL DAY LONG to the thirsty illegal borderhoppers. What a treat that would be!
Sue the mofos who serve the drink
No nomination for the Darwin here... Stupid can still reproduce...
This is incredibly sad. Everyone has done something "unconventional" and this girl thought the drink was safe. I hope she recovers and learns something...Somehow everything is funny until somebody gets hurt. I can not imagine how painful this had to be. Kudos to friends and docs who intervened quickly. She could have easily died.
When you are young and having fun on a night out you are not thinking of possibly dieing. That's just the way it is. I remember drinking like crazy in one place then going to another and having a glass with some amber liquid put in my hand and downing it not thinking about it. To me while I was drunk as hell everything was fun. I am not what you call a party animal by any stretch mind you. Just sayin' if I am subject to this behavior then anyone is. Bartenders have to pass tests to be one so they know what is to much and what isn't. It really is a wonder that some of us make it through our teenage years unscathed or alive more to the point.