Doctors in Hanoi have operated on a 37-year-old man whose large intestine had been pierced by nine metal and plastic rods he swallowed three years ago.

The man, Do Van L., of Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung District, was hospitalized after suffering stomach pains and frequent bloody bowel movements, said Dr Hoang Viet Hung, from the Surgery Department of the Hospital of Post And Telecoms.

Doctors detected the rods, each of which was 15 cm (6 inches) long, through an x-ray and decided to perform urgent surgery on L., Dr. Hung said.  

L., a former drug addict, swallowed the rods, five of which were iron, while the rest were plastic, in 2010 while he was undergoing a 6-month detoxification period, his relatives told doctors.

During his outbursts when he craved drugs, L. managed to cut iron and plastic clothes hangers and then swallow parts of them, his family said.

Since the operation, L. has gradually recovered and is expected to be discharged this week, Dr. Hung said. The hospital once treated a patient who had swallowed 20 toothpicks, two of which had pierced his large intestine, the doctor said.

Hospital doctors also saved a patient who had managed to put 1.3 meters of electrical wiring into his bladder.

L’s case was special since he swallowed the sticks as long as three years ago, Dr. Hung said.

If detected early, people who swallow dangerous objects can be treated successfully if they are removed in time. In cases of late detection, such objects can pierce organs and threaten the patient’s life.

Patients who actively put harmful objects into their body should consult with mental health experts, he added. 

A similar case occurred last week when doctors in central Thanh Hoa Province successfully removed three staples from the left lung of a 9-month-old boy, Nguyen Pho The Anh, of Quang Dai Commune, Quang Xuong District.

The boy’s mother said the baby grabbed several staples and put them into his month while he was sitting near his sister, who was binding books using staples.