5-year-old boy has 123 magnetic beads removed from stomach

A 5-year-old Chinese boy was so attracted to magnets that he swallowed 123 of them in the form of beads — which had to be removed from his stomach during a four-hour operation, according to a report.

The child decided to consume the small balls while watching TV with his 12-year-old sister after their parents left for work, the Daily Mail reported, citing the Guiyang Evening News.

At one point, the girl noticed that her brother was choking so she gave him water to drink, which helped him breathe again.

He told his parents he had only swallowed one bead, which a doctor said would soon be excreted — but when the ball didn’t show up after several days the worried parents took him to The Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University.

Doctors were stunned to discover a huge bundle of beads on an X-ray and rushed him to surgery.

An image released by the local outlet shows a surgeon scooping up the beads during the four-hour operation.

“It’s rare to see [someone] swallowing so many [magnetic beads]. Because the number of magnetic beads is relatively large, the operation time was long, and the procedure was difficult,” lead surgeon Dr. Wanwei Chen told reporters.

“Two surgical instruments had been worn out. It was very difficult to take out all of the balls,” he added.

The young patient was reportedly recovering from the ordeal.

via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/05/5-year-old-boy-has-123-magnetic-beads-removed-from-stomach/

Photo Credit: Guiyang Evening News