Iranian doctors who operated on a 37-year-old man suffering from stomach pain were stunned when they discovered more than 450 metal objects in his stomach.
The patient, who was in a psychotic state, had swallowed nearly 3kg of screws, nuts, keys, plates and other metal parts, in addition to stones that surgeons were able to extract from his intestines, according to the Daily Mail on Monday.
Three months after eating the pile of scrap metal, the 30-year-old went to a hospital in Ahvaz with stomach pains for x-rays, which revealed a large lump of metal blocking the exit of the stomach from the stomach.
The English-language newspaper continued that doctors then performed emergency surgery on the patient, who was eventually diagnosed with psychosis, a mental condition in which a person loses all contact with reality, explaining that the surgery was successful.
This practice of compulsively eating inedible items, such as hair, paper and sand, is called pica in medical circles and can particularly affect people with learning disabilities or those who are under stress.
