GHAZIABAD, India — Doctors in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh say they successfully removed 50 foreign objects, including steel spoons and toothbrushes, from the stomach of a 35-year-old man in what they described as an unusual and dangerous case of self-harm.
The patient, identified as Sachin, a resident of Hapur, was admitted to hospital in Ghaziabad after complaining of severe abdominal pain.
Scans revealed a collection of 29 steel spoons, 19 toothbrushes and two pens lodged in his stomach.
According to Sachin, the bizarre habit began during his time at a local de-addiction centre, where he said food was scarce and patients were given only small portions.
He alleged that meals brought by family members often failed to reach him.
Angered by the treatment, he began stealing spoons from the centre’s kitchen.
He described how he would take them to the bathroom, break them into pieces, and swallow them, often with water.
“I used to eat the spoons when I was angry,” he told doctors, according to local reports.
An initial attempt to retrieve the objects through endoscopy was unsuccessful due to the sheer number of items, hospital officials said.
Surgeons then carried out an operation to remove them, and the patient is now recovering.
Doctors noted that such cases often stem from psychiatric conditions.
“Ingesting sharp objects like these poses a grave risk to internal organs,” one physician involved in the surgery said.
“The patient is fortunate to have survived without life-threatening injuries.”
The discovery has raised fresh concerns about the conditions inside some de-addiction facilities in India.
Families of patients have long accused some centres of neglect and mistreatment.
This case echoes an earlier incident in 2022 in Muzaffarnagar, also in Uttar Pradesh, where surgeons extracted 63 spoons from a man’s stomach.
In that instance, the man’s family alleged that staff at a rehabilitation centre had forced him to swallow the spoons, though the patient himself reportedly denied the claim.
While rare, medical experts say such behaviour highlights the need for closer oversight of rehabilitation facilities, as well as greater access to mental health care.
For Sachin, doctors say the immediate danger has passed, but his recovery will depend as much on psychological support as on physical healing.
