Chennai: Doctors remove blade, stick from mentally ill man's body

New Delhi: Doctors at Stanley Medical College and Hospital in Chennai have removed a blade and a 10 cm long stick from a man suffering from a psychiatric condition.

Kalidoss, who arrived at the hospital with abdominal pain and fever on June 8, had to be operated thrice to remove the objects.

Preliminary investigations revealed the presence of pus in his liver, requiring him an immediate surgery.

However, further tests showed a blade in the man's respiratory tract and a 10 cm stick in his intestine.

Doctors had to use the fibre optic bronchoscope to visualise the object, which was a tedious process as the patient was continuously breathing. Then they intubated him to remove the object without damaging the airway.

“He had folded the blade in two and swallowed it. Just as we removed the tube, we saw another part of the blade. So we had to intubate him again to retrieve it,” Dr. Kumudha Lingaraj, head of anaesthesia, was quoted as saying.

After removing the pieces of blade, the patient, who was put on ventilators for four days, underwent a loop ileostomy to remove the stick.

Hospital dean Dr Ponnambalam Namasivayam termed it as a 'miracle', given the patient’s condition, as he said 'a cough could have displaced the blade and punctured his lung or blood vessels'.

Kalidoss, who is likely to be discharged in a week, was treated free of cost under Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. Otherwise, it would have cost his family ₹3 to ₹5 lakh in a private hispital.