Batteries, blades among 56 metal objects removed from UP teen’s stomach; patient dies post surgery

PTI, Nov 3, 2024, 6:30 PM IST

Hathras: A 15-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras died a day after a major surgery was performed on him at a Delhi hospital to remove an astonishing 56 objects such as watch batteries, blades, nails and other metal fragments from his stomach.

The discovery of multiple foreign objects inside the body of Aditya Sharma, a Class 9 student, has left the medical community perplexed and his family shaken, the boy’s father Sanchit Sharma, a Hathras-based medical representative, told PTI.

The boy died a day after the surgery at Safdarjung Hospital as his heart rate spiked and his BP dropped alarmingly, his father said.

The foreign objects inside Aditya’s stomach were detected during multiple medical check-ups in different hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, Jaipur, and Delhi, Sanchit said.

He said his family’s ordeal started after his son complained of severe stomach pain and breathing difficulties.

Sanchit said Aditya was initially taken to a local hospital in Hathras from where on medical advice he was subsequently moved to a Jaipur hospital, which discharged the patient after a brief treatment.

However, when the boy’s symptoms resurfaced, his family took him to a hospital in Aligarh where a surgery was performed on him to ease his breathing discomfort.

A post-surgery ultrasound at the Aligarh hospital on October 26 revealed presence of about 19 items inside Aditya’s body, following which doctors referred him to a more advanced medical facility in Noida. Here, another scan revealed presence of about 56 metal fragments, which led to the family moving the boy to Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital where a major surgery was performed on him on October 27.

“Doctors said that about 56 foreign objects were removed from my son’s body after the surgery at this Delhi hospital. Subsequently, three more foreign objects were removed, which surprised even the doctors who conceded that they were clueless about how this was medically possible,” he said.

“I must say that the doctors did try their best but perhaps destiny willed otherwise. My son died a day after the surgery at the Delhi hospital as his heart rate spiked and his BP dropped alarmingly,” Sanchit said.

Sanchit admitted that Aditya’s case left even the doctors perplexed, as there were no injury signs in his mouth or throat to suggest if the minor boy ingested the items deliberately or accidentally.

He said: “I lost my only son and am now left with my daughter, who, like the rest of us, is shaken by this terrible, unexplained, and mysterious tragedy to have hit us out of nowhere.” He said Aditya’s unexplained death has raised many questions, leaving both his family and medical professionals puzzled.

The family resides at Ratangarbha colony in Hathras.

No comment was available from the Safdarjung Hospital on the matter.