PUDUCHERRY: In a medical feat, a team of doctors at GEM Hospital, Puducherry, removed 23 pins and blades from the abdomen of a 20-year-old man, earlier this month.
Battling seizure disorder since childhood and suffering from psychiatric illness, Gopi (name changed) was admitted to the hospital on August 7 after he complained of abdominal pain, blood vomiting, and abnormal coloured stool for weeks. The medical team, led by Dr K Sasikumar, conducted a thorough evaluation of the patient. Despite his denial of ingesting any foreign body, an endoscopic procedure revealed an accumulation of foreign material in his stomach, which resulted in a condition called 'Foreign Body Bezoar'.
A team comprising Surgical Gastroenterologists Dr Sasikumar and Dr K Sugumaran, Medical Gastroenterologist Dr Rajesh, and Anesthesiologist Dr Ranjith successfully removed 23 foreign bodies consisting of 13 hairpins, five safety pins, and five razor blades over a two-hour long procedure. After six hours of the procedure, Gopi was fine and could eat normally.
Dr Sugumaran said the patient's parents initially doubted the necessity for open surgery. The medical team's expert explanation of the procedure reassured them. Gopi has been discharged from the hospital. However, he is undergoing psychological counselling. Dr C Palanivelu, Chairman of GEM Hospitals and a trailblazing Laparoscopic and Robotic surgeon, commended the medical team.