VIJAYAWADA: A team of doctors removed 50 magnetic balls from the abdomen of a 7-year-old boy in Vijayawada on Tuesday. The incident came to light after Nehan Arya, who hails from Khammam in Telangana, suffered from severe abdominal pain in the past 48 hours. His parents, R. Durga Bhavani and Kartheek, rushed him to Rainbow Children’s Hospital. The emergency staff attended to him immediately.
Surgery was performed by a team of experts, including Dr. Vamsi Siva Rama Raju (Paediatrician and Neonatologist), and Dr. Ramprasad. S (clinical director ), Dr. Prasun (surgeon) and Dr. Sridevi (anesthesiologist), after an X-ray report revealed the presence of foreign objects in the boy’s abdomen.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Vamsi Sivarama Raju, said, “The parents of the boy expressed their doubt that the boy had been playing with magnetic balls for the past couple of days. Timely identification and intervention prevented the child from severe sepsis and a prolonged ICU stay.”
The seven-year-old was taken for surgery on an emergency basis. Dr Siva Satya Prasun, a paediatric surgeon said, "As many as 50 small, pear-shaped magnets were removed from his intestines. Later, he was shifted to the ICU for a brief period of time.”
Citing a Taiwanese study, Vamsi Sivarama Raju stated, “Literature shows that the ingestion of magnets has been increasing among children as they are widely used in toys. The study reported 13 cases of magnet ingestion between 2009 and 2018. China reported 56 cases between 2010 and 2020, the maximum number of cases to be logged so far. Among these, the highest number of magnets retrieved from a child’s body was 73.”
Speaking to TNIE, Durga Bhavani, the mother of Nehan Arya, expressed her delight and gratitude and thanked the hospital management for responding swiftly. She said, “When we learnt that Arya had swallowed 50 magnetic balls, we were extremely worried about his life. However, with the grace of God, our child returned home. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the doctors at Rainbow Hospital.”