Indian Man Complaining Of Food Poisoning Had Nails, Coins In His Stomach

In a rare surgery, surgeons treating an Indian man with suspected food poisoning Sunday were stunned after they discovered 263 coins, shaving blades and 100 nails — a total of 7 kilograms of foreign objects in his stomach. The doctors told local media that the man is under observation.

Maksud Khan, 35, from Sohaval in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, India, was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Medical College and Hospital in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh on Nov. 18, as he complained of abdominal pains and doctors performed an endoscopy to investigate the cause of the pain.

Dr. Priyank Sharma at the hospital said they found the cause after conducting an x-ray alongside a few other tests. The group of surgeons led by Dr. Sharma said they were amazed to find hundreds of coins, 1.5 kilograms of nails, dozens of shaving blades, shards of glass, stones, and a 6-inch piece of rusted iron shackle inside the man’s stomach.

The doctors said that Khan was treated for six months in Satna before he was taken to the hospital in Rewa.

Surgeons at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India, immediately operated and removed the foreign objects from the man’s body.

Khan is believed to suffer from mental health problems and did not inform his family or friends of his bizarre eating habits.

Dr. Sharma, who led the surgical team, said: "The patient was complaining of stomach pain, so we thought of getting an endoscopy done."

"We were shocked to discover that coins, nails and nut-bolts in his stomach. We come across such a case for the first in our career,” he added.

"This man looks mentally unstable as no sane person would do something like this," the Independent quoted him as saying.

"Usually, people start eating abnormal things under certain psychological conditions. He had been eating metal for a year but did not tell anyone," Dr. APS Geharwar, Head of Department-surgery at the hospital told the Times Of India.

"Normally, there is no problem until these particles start obstructing the intestines. In this case, the problems had started," he added.

"He cannot be said to be out of danger yet, but he is stable," Geharwar said regarding the condition of the man.

Khan was said to have worked as a three-wheeler driver and would often swallow coins as a habit, which were given to him by his customers, according to the doctors. He had been complaining of stomach ache for almost three months.

Relatives said that Khan had been suffering from depression and thus might have resorted to consuming metal objects.

Surgeons said that they were surprised at first that the coins and nails didn't cause any pain or problem initially. "The operation was done in the nick of the time as some of the nails lodged had pierced his stomach, caused bleeding and resulting in loss of hemoglobin," said another doctor who operated on Khan.

Khan promised to not substance abuse again and doctors said he was now stable, the Daily Mail reported.

This is not the first time that Indian surgeons had to deal with such a case, in 2015, a similar case took place in Bathinda, Punjab in India where the doctors removed 150 nails, handful of nuts and 40 coins, bolts and batteries from a 34-year-old farmer's body.