2-Year-Old Boy Swallows Magnets While Playing, Doctors Perform Rare Life-Saving Surgery

Doctors at a private hospital in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru recently performed a life-saving surgery to remove two magnets from a toddler’s stomach.

Local reports stated that the 2-year-old was rushed to Sakara Hospital on May 24 after he swallowed the magnets while playing at home. The doctors were able to successfully remove the magnets from the child's stomach after surgery. The magnets were of 6 millimeters (0.24 inches) each.

In a statement to Indian news agency IANS on Thursday (June 18), Sakara Hospital pediatric surgeon A.P. Lingegowda said, "An x-ray of 2-year-old Nithya (name changed) on May 24 revealed that he swallowed 2 magnets while playing. One magnet was found in the stomach and another in the abdomen.”

Laparoscopic surgery was performed to remove the magnets. The doctor said if the surgery was not done on time, the magnets could have proven fatal.

“Nithya was lucky as both the magnets were removed through laparoscopic surgery in time, which was first of its case in our hospital," the doctor said.

Warning parents to keep their children away from small objects, the doctor said, "As kids are curious and tend to put whatever they find in mouth, it is important to keep small objects away from their reach.” The child was recovering.

The incident comes months after 11 needles were found in a 3-year-old boy’s body, including his private parts, in the southern Indian state of Telangana. The boy was rushed to a local hospital after his parents noticed a needle poking out of his back. The X-ray revealed that there were 10 needles inside his body. The unidentified boy underwent emergency surgery.

“The parents had been worried about the child’s health over the past six months and the doctor at the hospital then told them to go for an X-ray. The X-ray report showed that there were 10 other needles inside the child’s body, around his pelvic region. The doctors, after a careful examination, have managed to remove eight needles by conducting surgeries. Two needles are yet to be removed and doctors are saying it will take a little more time since the needles are in a sensitive area,” a police officer said.