India doctors remove 40 knives from man's stomach Published duration 23 August 2016

image copyright EPA image caption The man, 42, swallowed the knives over a period of three months

Doctors in the northern Indian city of Amritsar say they have surgically removed 40 knives from a man's stomach.

The man, 42, had swallowed the knives over a period of three months.

Dr Jatinder Malholtra told the BBC that the man met him last week after suffering severe pain in his stomach.

He said the man did not tell doctors that he had been swallowing knives. "We found out that he had been literally eating knives after conducting diagnostic tests," he said.

The man is recovering in the hospital and is out of danger.

The operation involved a team of five doctors and it took them five hours to finish the surgical process to remove the knives.

"It was a complex procedure and we had to really plan well to ensure a successful operation," he said.

image copyright Corporate Hospital image caption CT scans showed 40 knives in the man's stomach

Doctors are now trying to find out why he was swallowing knives.

"We don't know the exact reason but it seems like he was suffering from some kind of psychological disorder. Even his family didn't know about his habit of swallowing knives," he said.

"He is getting counselling. He has promised that he will never touch a knife again, but his family will have to monitor him."

Related Topics India

Asia