Story highlights The man kept his knife-eating habit secret from his family

"In my 20 years of practice, I have never seen anything like it," doctor says

New Delhi (CNN) A man in India spent two months swallowing knives and had 40 of them surgically removed from his stomach, according to the doctor who led the operation.

"He had a wild urge to consume metal. Even for us, the experienced surgeons, it was frightening," Dr. Jatinder Malhotra told CNN.

"We were so nervous... a small mistake could have taken the patient's life. In my 20 years of practice, I have never seen anything like it."

Malhotra said it took his team about two days to form a diagnosis and surgery plan.

The five-hour operation took place Friday in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, a Sikh holy city in the state of Punjab.

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