An Egyptian medical team at the Aswan University Hospitals in southern Egypt removed a cellphone from the stomach of an inmate who swallowed it six months ago.
The doctors noted the patient (M.A.) was in pain when he was hospitalized. Tests and scans showed he was suffering from severe inflammation in the stomach and gut caused by a cellphone. An immediate surgery was carried out to save his life.
According to Dr. Ashraf Maabad, executive director of the Aswan University Hospitals, "the patient swallowed the phone six months ago. The device prevented his body from accepting food before the doctors saved his life.”
The patient told the team that he used to swallow cellphones and then defecate them in prison. However, this time, he couldn't get rid of it because it was wrapped in a plastic bag, which prevented the digestion of the device and affected his health. The medical team said they handed the cellphone to the police.
This unfamiliar incident is not the first in Egypt. In September, 2020, doctors at the Benha University Hospital, in the Egyptian Delta, removed a phone from the stomach of a young Egyptian who had swallowed it seven months ago.
Last year, doctors at Al Kasr Al Einy Hospital removed 6,500 Egyptian pounds from the stomach of a patient in a four-hour surgery. According to the surgeons, the banknotes were divided into four rolls.
In September 2019, surgeons at Al Mansoura Hospital removed spoons and forks, in addition to chains and rings, from the gut of a 20-year-old man who has cerebral atrophy.
In early 2019, an Egyptian doctor in the Dahkaliya Province removed 20 pounds worth of coins from the stomach of a 10-year-old boy after he suffered from non-stop vomiting.
