Surgeons discover 209 magnetic balls in Russian boy’s stomach

The boy’s parents rushed him to hospital after his faeces turned black – leading doctors to discover a “mass” inside his stomach.

Shocked doctors in Russia discovered hundreds of magnetic balls trapped inside a boy’s stomach – swallowed two months earlier.

Surgeons in Moscow painstakingly removed the 209 “potentially lethal” metal spheres one-by-one with an endoscopic device after traces of blood were spotted in the child’s faeces.

Following the two-hour procedure, they revealed some of the balls had developed sharp edges which could have pierced the stomach lining.

The two-year-old had apparently swallowed the magnetic balls more than two months before he was taken to hospital.

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Surgeons successfully removed 209 magnetic balls from the boy’s stomach. Picture: Department of Endoscopy, Research Institute of Emergency Paediatric Surgery and Traumatology/Newsflash.

It was only when his parents noticed his stools were black – a sign of internal bleeding – that they sought medical help.

After contacting doctors, his parents then began to notice the appearance of coloured metal balls in his poo.

He was then rushed to the Emergency Children’s Surgery and Traumatology Research Institute where an X-ray revealed a metal mass in his stomach.

The “potentially lethal” magnetic balls were apparently part of a children’s toy that the boy had been playing with.

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The boy was taken to hospital after parents noticed his stools were black. Picture: Department of Endoscopy, Research Institute of Emergency Paediatric Surgery and Traumatology/Newsflash.

Following the successful operation, the boy is now reported to be in good health.

Last year, a Melbourne toddler was lucky to survive after she swallowed 32 ball bearing-style magnets from inside a toy during lockdown.

Imogen Ferguson, 18 months old, had to have emergency surgery to remove the deadly objects from her tummy and bowel.

“These magnets can be extremely dangerous, and erode through intestinal tissue as they try and connect to each other,” Monash Hospital surgeon Chris Kimber said.

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Imogen Ferguson had the magnets removed during emergency surgery. Picture: 7 News

“They cause multiple holes in the bowel and are potentially life-threatening.”

Imogen’s mum Teigan Brown said she had “cried and cried” when she discovered her daughter had swallowed the magnets.

Imogen had been in isolation during the coronavirus crisis with her sister Heidi, 4, who also ingested two magnets.

Ms Brown said the girls had been left alone for just a “few seconds” when they found a toy.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission