The appearance of blood in urine can be a cause for concern for anyone. A similar situation occurred with a 35-year-old man in China who was experiencing difficulty urinating and had blood in his urine. He sought treatment at the hospital.
Initially, the situation did not seem critical: the man's main indicators and vital functions were normal, and he did not have other serious problems. However, during the examination, doctors discovered something that shocked them.
According to the New York Post, numerous objects resembling metal needles were found in the man's body during scanning. These objects were not only in the abdominal cavity or bladder; one of them reached the sac surrounding the heart.
During the medical examination at the hospital, doctors noticed a strange shadow near the heart on imaging scans. To better understand the condition, a contrast-enhanced CT scan was performed. The results of this scan shocked the doctors: multiple metal objects in the form of needles were present in various parts of the man's body, including the abdominal cavity, pelvis, bladder, and other areas.
The most concerning was a metal spike about 1.4 inches long that had penetrated the pericardium—the fluid sac surrounding the heart. A fundamental question arose: how did these objects get inside the body?
The man suffered from intellectual disability since childhood and could not tell the doctors how he got the needles. His father, who was the legal guardian, also did not have this information. Nevertheless, doctors found an important clue in old medical records: approximately two years ago, two dangerous foreign objects were removed from his abdomen at another hospital. Based on this history, doctors hypothesized that the case might be related to self-implantation or the deliberate introduction of foreign objects into the body.
Self-implantation is a form of non-suicidal self-injury where a person consciously inserts a foreign object into their body. In such cases, glass shards, paper clips, wire, or other sharp objects may be used. Although this behavior is considered rare, such cases have been documented in medical reports for many decades.
The history of such incidents is quite old. In 1936, while investigating the case of serial killer Albert Fish, about 30 needles were found in his groin and abdominal area. In subsequent decades, such cases continued to appear, and after 2010, doctors began paying special attention to cases of adolescents who intentionally inserted foreign objects into their bodies.
However, in the case of the patient from China, doctors faced a different problem: the objects were not only under the skin, but some had penetrated very deeply, damaging the sac around the heart.
For the doctors, the primary task was to determine which object should be removed first. Despite the presence of multiple metal objects in the man's body, the spike near the heart posed the greatest danger. Removing the spike was also risky, as the operation could damage surrounding tissues, whereas leaving the spike could cause serious complications.
Ultimately, the doctors decided to remove this specific spike first. During the surgical procedure, a completely stitched black metal needle covered in rust was extracted, indicating its prolonged presence in the body.
Another surprising aspect for the doctors was the absence of visible wounds or marks on the man's chest that could indicate the path of the needle into the body. Thus, the doctors could not provide a clear answer to how the needle reached the heart area.
After the surgery, the man developed an additional problem: his heart was already damaged by the needle. This was compounded by the stress of the operation itself, leading to a significant decrease in his cardiac function. Nevertheless, his condition subsequently stabilized.
Approximately nine days after the operation, he was discharged from the hospital. After that, doctors continued to monitor him. During a follow-up examination nine months later, his condition remained stable, and his heart function recovered to a better level.
Regarding the other needles, the doctors decided not to remove them immediately. Removing every foreign object from the body is not always a simple or safe process, as the extraction surgery itself can cause more harm. Therefore, the other needles are currently under close observation.
