Man Has 2 Pounds Of Nails, Screws Removed From Stomach

A man in Lithuania has had more than 2 pounds of metal removed from his stomach by doctors.

Doctors said the man, who was not identified for reasons of patient confidentiality, began swallowing nails, screws, nuts and knives over the last month after he had quit drinking, the BBC reported.

The man was admitted to a hospital in the Baltic port city of Klaipeda last week with severe abdominal pain.

He underwent emergency three-hour surgery at Klaipeda University Hospital. Some of the objects removed from his stomach were 10 centimeters (4 inches) long, according to Lithuania's LRT public broadcaster.

The hospital provided local media with photos of the metal objects retrieved from the man's body during the surgery.

The surgeon who performed the procedure, Sarunas Dailidenas, branded it a "unique case."

“During the three-hour operation with X-ray control, all foreign bodies, even the smallest ones, in the patient’s stomach were removed,” Dailidenas said.

Algirdas Slepavicius, head surgeon at Klaipeda Hospital told local media, “We’ve never seen anything like it.”

The objects had “damaged the front wall of the stomach, endangering human life,” the report said.

“Finding foreign objects in patients is more common,” Dailidenas said. “But the amount is unique. We were also concerned that the man had suffered internal injuries from the nails and screws.”

The man is said to be in stable condition after the operation and is being monitored at KUH. He was also offered psychological help.

Doctors said that finding foreign bodies in the gastrointestinal tract is not unusual for them. Sewing needles, pennies, spoons and forks are some of the most common items they find in the stomachs of patients.