Man Found With Foreign Objects In Multiple Body Parts In China

A 35-year-old man sought treatment at a hospital in China after feeling discomfort while urinating and noticing blood in his urine. He displayed no other signs of illness, had steady vitals, and otherwise appeared to be in good health.

Further testing revealed a shadow-like shape near his heart, prompting more extensive investigations. Doctors discovered multiple 'needle-like metallic foreign bodies' scattered inside his body.

One of the needles, measuring 1.4 inches, had pierced the pericardium, the fluid-filled sac surrounding his heart. The patient was immediately taken to surgery, where an intact metallic sewing needle was removed from his pericardium.

Following surgery, the man’s cardiac function deteriorated due to the stress of the procedure and the internal damage caused by the needle. However, he recovered and was discharged after nine days. His heart condition was found to be stable at a nine-month follow-up appointment.

Doctors suspected the man was self-embedding, a rare form of self-inflicted injury involving the deliberate insertion of foreign objects. The patient had a history of intellectual disability and could not explain how the objects entered his body.

The discovery of two previously removed foreign objects from his abdomen at another hospital led doctors to suspect self-embedding. The man’s legal caregiver, his father, also could not explain the presence of the objects.