A young man shocked doctors after they discovered 39 coins and 37 magnets in his stomach that he purposely swallowed to help him “build muscle”.
The 26-year-old man was rushed to hospital in New Delhi, India’s capital, with severe abdominal pain and vomiting.
He was unable to eat for 20 days after ingesting the objects that he reportedly believed would help with his zinc intake and the nutrient would help him achieve muscle growth.
Worried family members brought the man, not identified in local media, to the Ganga Ram Hospital’s emergency ward for help.
They told doctors they noticed the man had been recently eating coins and magnets.
A quick X-ray scan revealed the shocking presence of loads of metallic objects shaped like coins in his stomach.
A CT scan further confirmed his intestines were blocked due to the objects he had swallowed.
A team of surgeons, led by Dr Tarun Mittal, prepared him for an urgent operation.
During the surgery, doctors discovered the magnets had stuck together and caused a lot more damage to his intestines than previously thought.
They carefully repaired the damage by performing two anastomoses, which are surgical connections between parts of the intestine.
After further inspecting the stomach, the team discovered even more coins and magnets.
Eventually, they removed a staggering total of 39 coins and 37 magnets of different shapes including hearts, spheres, stars, bullets, and triangles.
A post-operative X-ray confirmed all the objects had been successfully extracted.
According to the patient’s family, he allegedly suffers from a mental illness, and he was kept under careful monitoring at the hospital for a week.
During that time, he reportedly made a swift recovery and was discharged in healthy condition.
Dr Mittal said: “I would like to inform people that ingestion of these foreign bodies can be life-threatening and should not be done.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Simona Kitanovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Asia Wire Report
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
