Ahmedabad: 3.5-kg metal items removed from patient

A team of doctors at the Civil Hospital here have removed 452 metal objects weighing around 3.5 kg including coins, screws, nut-bolts, nails, blade pieces, a nail cutter, spark plug and a locket from the abdomen of a 28-year-old mentally unstable man. The doctors said the man is suffering from 'acuphagia', a rare disorder which causes the person to eat metallic objects.

The youth was brought to the ENT department of Civil Hospital from Government Mental Hospital on August 9 with complaints of chest pain and trouble in breathing. Upon an X-ray, the doctors found a three-inch pin in his right bronchus, which was removed through bronchoscopy.

After the procedure, however, the patient complained of acute abdominal pain. He was then referred to the surgical ward where an X-ray of the abdomen revealed a bunch of foreign objects inside the abdomen. He was immediately shifted to the operation theatre and a team of four surgeons — Kalpesh Parmar, Nisarg Shah, Vashisth Jhajal and Akash Patel — carried out the two-and-a-half-hour surgery.

"The patient's mother said he got married around a decade ago and has a daughter. But the couple divorced and after his wife left, he was under emotional distress which led to mental health issues. He was admitted to the Government Mental Hospital where he has been staying for the past 3-4 years, with occasional breaks when he stays at home with his widowed mother. He might have swallowed the metal objects while at home," said Parmar.

GH Rathod, head of surgery at the facility, told DNA the patient is under observation in the ICU, his condition is stable and he is recovering.

Tummy Tuck

42 coins, 26 nut-bolts, 78 screws, spring, nail cutter, magnet, earrings, glass and blades, 6 hairpins, 17 pen-caps, 17 spoon handles, rings, safety pins