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MUMBAI: Doctors safely removed an almost 8-inch screwdriver from the rectum of a 54-year-old carpenter on Friday evening, more than 48 hours after he had used it to apply pain medication on his haemorrhoids.

The carpenter, who didn't want to be identified, said he had recently started suffering from haemorrhoids or piles, an inflammation of the tissues in the anal canal. "A doctor near the construction site I work at in Mulund told me to apply xylocaine gel internally. As a carpenter, I could only think of using a screwdriver for this purpose," he told TOI. The gel, incidentally, also comes in a different packing with a plastic applicator.

Doctors at the Baldota Institute of Digestive Sciences in Global Hospital, Parel, removed the screwdriver endoscopically without surgery. "It took us 10 minutes to remove the screwdriver, but it was a challenge to ensure that its sharp edge doesn't perforate the tissues during the extraction," said gastroenterologist Gaurav Patil.

On Wednesday night, the carpenter used the screwdriver to apply the medicine and fell asleep. "The next morning he realised it had migrated into his anal canal, but out of embarrassment didn't seek help," said Patil. It was only on Friday when the pain was unbearable that he went to a couple of doctors in the Mulund-Thane belt. He was directed to Global Hospital for removal without surgery.

The biggest challenge was that the screwdriver had migrated almost 10-12 cm away from the anal opening. The doctors introduced a special probe with a loop called a snare alongside to complete the extraction.

Dr Amit Maydeo, who heads the digestive sciences department, said it wasn't uncommon to get patients with foreign bodies in their rectum. "Patients often swallow a pin, clip or ball-bearing that gets lodged in the rectum and needs to be removed, but a 20-cm screwdriver is unusual and dangerous because it has a sharp edge that could have caused a major internal wound," he said.

The carpenter, whose family is in UP, said he is feeling "as normal as before". The doctors conducted a post-procedure endoscopic survey that revealed minor ulcers at the spot where the screwdriver was embedded. "It will heal in a few days," said the doctors, adding that his piles too wasn't a major problem.

