Buzz
While it may sound like something out of a fictional story, these incidents are the result of a series of improbable and unfortunate events that led to bizarre objects finding their way into the human body. Some of these occurrences were traumatic accidents, while others were caused by reckless actions. A few of the victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Advances in modern medicine, including antibiotics, MRI scanners, transplants, and surgical robots, have made incredible progress. Without these innovations, many of the patients mentioned here would have either perished or faced debilitating conditions. So let’s give a nod to the medical professionals as we explore the 10 most peculiar objects ever removed from the human body.
10. A Swordfish Bill
While paddling off the coast of Santorini Island, a young woman suddenly experienced a sharp stabbing pain in her upper abdomen. Realizing she had been speared by an aggressive fish, she quickly removed the animal from her body and made a swift retreat.
X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs revealed liver damage and swelling in the surrounding blood vessels. The most concerning finding, however, was the swordfish’s bill, which was lodged in her spinal canal. Surgeons managed the bleeding, repaired the damaged tissue, and then performed additional surgery to remove the swordfish bill. After over a month of recovery and several courses of antibiotics, the woman was discharged from the hospital, on the road to recovery.
The remains of the swordfish bill, minus its tip, were discovered near the scene of the attack. Ichthyologists confirmed that the weapon belonged to a swordfish (Xiphias gladius). To this day, the identity of the fish remains unknown.
In a 2010 report published in the journal BMC Surgery, four cases of swordfish attacks were discussed in the scientific literature. One victim suffered thoracic trauma, another a knee injury, and two others sustained head injuries.
One of the victims, a 39-year-old fisherman, ultimately succumbed to his injuries. While fishing on his boat, he shined a torch into the water, and in a violent frenzy, the swordfish leapt toward him, fatally striking him.
The man, whose right eye was impaled by the swordfish’s bill, was urgently transported to a nearby hospital. Within days, the patient fell unconscious and passed away. The bill had pierced into the third ventricle of his brain, causing a brain hemorrhage and severe swelling.
Swordfish typically hunt at night, scanning the water’s surface for movement to locate small fish. It’s believed that the swordfish struck after confusing the flashlight for a potential source of food.
9. Pea Plant
In 2010, a Massachusetts man, devout and now terrified of peas, was rushed to the hospital with a suspected collapsed lung. The 75-year-old retired teacher, Ron Sveden, presented with shortness of breath and a cough, symptoms initially linked to emphysema.
After Sveden’s admission to the emergency room, doctors frantically searched for the cause of his collapsed lung. While cancer was ruled out, an X-ray revealed an unusual growth: a tiny, 1-centimeter (0.5 in) pea plant growing inside his lung.
Months before, Sveden had been enjoying a healthy meal of vegetables when a rogue pea slipped down the wrong passage, entering the trachea instead of the esophagus. Once in the lung, the pea split and began to sprout. It turns out the warm, moist environment of the human lung is perfect for cultivating pea plants.
Sveden shared a piece of wisdom: “One of the first meals I had in the hospital after surgery included peas. I chuckled to myself and ate them anyway.”
8. Who Is The Hairiest Of Them All?
An 18-year-old American woman arrived at the hospital with abdominal pain and bloating. She frequently vomited after eating and had lost an alarming 18 kilograms (40 pounds).
Upon examination, doctors discovered a solid mass in the upper part of her abdomen. A CT scan confirmed the presence of a large mass, prompting gastrointestinal specialists to perform an endoscopy. The scope revealed a massive, 5-kilogram (10 lb) ball of human hair.
The tangled hairball was surgically removed, and doctors worked to determine its origin. The 18-year-old was later diagnosed with trichophagia, also known as Rapunzel syndrome, a rare condition where individuals compulsively eat their own hair. Because the human digestive system is unable to process hair, it forms an immovable ball known as a trichobezoar.
This wasn’t the only extreme case of trichophagia. A young woman from Kyrgyzstan came to the doctors with a swollen abdomen, vomiting, malnutrition, and dehydration. After surgery, the medical team uncovered a 4-kilogram (9 lb) trichobezoar. The woman had a habit of eating her own hair, as well as picking up hair from the floor.
Apparently, both women have since overcome the habit.
7. A Nail To The Brain
Dante Autullo, a man from Chicago, was in the process of constructing a shed when his trusty nail gun misfired. Although the nail struck him in the head, Autullo and his fiancée, Gail Glaenzer, initially believed it was just a minor graze. The couple treated the wound casually, and Autullo returned to work.
The following day, Autullo began feeling unwell. Glaenzer convinced him to visit the hospital, where an X-ray revealed the shocking cause of his symptoms: a 9-centimeter ( in) nail lodged in his brain.
Neurosurgeons worked on the 34-year-old for two hours. They drilled two holes into his skull to remove the nail and a fragment of bone. A titanium mesh was then used to repair the damage to his skull.
The nail had come dangerously close to a critical area of the brain responsible for movement. Miraculously, the self-proclaimed 'medical miracle' appeared to suffer no lasting effects from the incident.
When discussing the incident, Autullo made one final request to his brain surgeon:
'Yeah, I’m hoping Dr. Schaffer will let me keep the nail and a piece of the skull. I want to make a frame out of it, add some glass, and hang it up on the wall,' Autullo joked.
6. The Human Bomb
Afghanistan has always been a perilous place, but Private Channing Moss has felt this danger more than most.
In 2006, as part of the 10th Mountain Division’s Alpha Company, Moss was deployed on a mission in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province. While US troops maneuvered through dry riverbeds, Taliban fighters opened fire, launching rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). During the attack, Moss was violently thrown against his own Humvee.
As Moss looked down, he saw the tail fins of a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) protruding from his abdomen. Despite the immense danger, the company’s medic, Jared Angell, rushed to help, treating Moss’s injuries. Angell then carefully stabilized the RPG and worked to keep Moss as calm as possible.
When the chaos finally subsided, MEDEVAC helicopters arrived to evacuate the injured. Though protocol typically dictated that Moss should not be moved due to the explosive device lodged inside him, the team decided to take the calculated risk.
An explosives expert teamed up with a surgical team at the makeshift field hospital at Orgun-E base. First, the RPG fins were removed, and then the rocket was carefully extracted from Moss’s chest. The explosives expert detonated the device while the surgeons completed the necessary procedures.
After undergoing four surgeries and enduring extensive physical therapy, Private Moss regained his strength and was able to walk to receive his Purple Heart award.
5. 40 Knives
An Indian man consumed 40 knives over several months. The 42-year-old, perhaps reluctant to share the oddity of his cravings, did not inform doctors about his unusual habit of swallowing sharp objects. Instead, he simply complained of abdominal pain, allowing the medical puzzle to persist longer than it should have.
After a series of diagnostic tests, doctors were shocked to find a collection of knives inside his stomach. The only way to remove them was through an invasive surgical procedure.
Preparation for surgery took several days before doctors gave the green light. The operation lasted five intense hours, during which surgeons extracted an assortment of knives. Some were folded, while others had their blades exposed, measuring up to 18 centimeters (7 inches) in length.
The cause of the man’s peculiar obsession with metal knives remained unclear. However, it was suggested that he suffered from pica, a disorder that compels individuals to eat non-food objects. Pica is often associated with factors such as iron deficiency anemia, pregnancy, stress, trauma, and certain mental health conditions.
People with pica have been known to consume bizarre items such as feces, soil, ice, paint, metal, glass, soap, toothbrushes, and clay. Over time, several high-profile pica cases have captured attention. In 2002, a man in France had more than 4,000 francs, in coins, extracted from his stomach. More recently, a British woman sought help to overcome her habit of eating sponges.
4. Glass Bottle
Where, you might wonder, did the glass bottle end up? The answer can be found in this title from the journal Annals of Surgery:
“Accidental Introduction of Giant Foreign Body into the Rectum: Case Report.”
A 73-year-old farmer was brought to the University of Mississippi Medical Center with a glass bottle lodged in his rectum. With no proper restroom available, the man had chosen a dumping site in the wilderness to relieve himself.
Following his usual routine, the man fashioned a rudimentary toilet by placing a wooden board across two supports. After lowering his trousers, he was ready to proceed. Unfortunately, the board was not sturdy enough to support his weight and collapsed.
The full weight of the man’s body pressed down onto a glass bottle partially buried in the ground. The bottle was forced into the man's rectum, entering with its wide end first. The agony didn’t stop there. As he struggled, he fell sideways, which caused the bottle’s neck to break, making its removal even more complicated and requiring medical assistance.
While some may doubt the veracity of his story, the scientific journal provides some credibility to his account:
“Past and family history both indicated an absence of perverted tendencies.” It continues: “The patient showed remarkable composure and only expressed discomfort during the examination of his anal area.” The doctors anesthetized the area and used obstetric forceps to extract the bottle. Suture ligatures were then applied to stop the bleeding.
The journal also details other strange items that have been removed from patients’ anuses. In addition to the usual suspects like cucumbers, carrots, broom handles, and test tubes, there were a few truly unexpected entries:
“Among the more unusual objects were spectacles, a suitcase key, a half-filled tobacco pouch, a 15-centimeter (6 in) by 13-centimeter (5 in) toolbox weighing 634 grams (22 oz), a stone 17 centimeters (7 in) wide weighing around 0.9 kilograms (2 lbs), and even a frozen pig's tail.”
The pig’s tail case was particularly perplexing, prompting further investigation. A quick search revealed that a group of students, for reasons unknown, had inserted the tail into a prostitute’s rectum. As the tail thawed, its bristles made it difficult to remove. In a moment of ingenuity, a hollow reed was used to encase the entire tail, and the object was successfully extracted.
3. Surgical Forceps
Every day, surgeons around the globe carry out millions of operations. In 2009 alone, about 48 million inpatient surgeries were performed in the United States. With such a vast number of procedures, it’s no surprise that mistakes occasionally occur.
The most serious errors are termed “never events,” meaning they are errors that should never happen. One such event involves surgeons accidentally leaving their surgical tools inside patients. Unfortunately, these errors are more common than one might expect.
According to The Joint Commission, retained foreign objects (RFOs) are often the result of poor communication or failure to follow proper counting procedures. The most frequently forgotten objects are sponges, packing, and needles. However, in some instances, surgeons leave behind larger objects, as seen in the following case.
A 36-year-old woman underwent surgery to remove a hydatid cyst from her liver. Hydatid disease typically occurs when humans ingest tapeworm eggs from the Echinococcus parasite. The surgery was successful, and the woman resumed her normal life—until a few years later, when she began experiencing problems.
Over the following years, the woman experienced ongoing abdominal and pelvic pain. One day, after a trip to the bathroom, she discovered the cause of her discomfort. To her shock, one of the handles of a pair of surgical forceps had emerged. It was time to revisit the hospital for further treatment.
Scans of the woman's abdomen revealed the remaining part of the surgical forceps. The tool, now darkened and corroded, was successfully removed from her colon. As a result, the patient decided to sue both the hospital and the surgeon responsible for leaving the instrument inside her.
There is still no definitive explanation for how the forceps traveled from the woman’s abdominal cavity into her colon.
A similar mishap occurred at the Bac Kan hospital in Vietnam, where a surgical team left a pair of forceps inside a patient's abdomen. The man had endured years of pain, but his symptoms were finally relieved when surgeons extracted the 15-centimeter-long (6 in) forceps 18 years after the initial surgery.
Other foreign objects that have been mistakenly left inside patients include towels, medical gloves, scissors, retractors, guide wires, and clamps.
2. Ectopic Teeth
While it’s not out of the ordinary to find teeth in the human body, the appearance of teeth in unexpected places can result in serious medical issues. Though supernumerary teeth are rare, ectopic teeth are even more unusual.
The American Journal of Neuroradiology recounts several cases of ectopic teeth found within the nasal cavity. In one case, a 59-year-old patient sought medical attention for a blocked left nostril and a persistent foul odor that had been bothering her for two years.
A series of CT scans revealed an unusual object lodged in her nasal cavity. Doctors carefully explored the woman’s face and extracted a tooth, which was coated in a greasy substance. Histological analysis identified the substance as a fungus called Aspergillus, likely the cause of the unpleasant odor.
Meanwhile, an Indian boy named Ashik Gavai found himself in the hospital after experiencing jaw pain and swelling. ENT specialists at a Mumbai hospital diagnosed Gavai with odontoma, a benign tumor caused by the abnormal growth of dental tissue. In his case, the gums in his lower jaw developed multiple teeth.
The boy's medical team had to resort to a chisel and hammer to remove more than 230 small teeth. The grueling surgery lasted a full seven hours. However, due to the surgeons' persistence, Gavai now proudly possesses just 28 perfect teeth.
1. Under Pressure
Steven McCormack will forever recall the day he had an unfortunate confrontation with a high-pressure air hose. The truck driver from New Zealand was standing between the cabin and trailer of his truck when he lost his footing and slipped. In doing so, he ruptured the high-pressure hose, which punctured his left buttock. It was as if something out of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, as McCormack's body expanded like a balloon.
Panicked, McCormack screamed, prompting his coworkers to rush to his aid. Though they managed to shut off the air supply, McCormack was left with a brass nozzle protruding from his rear. His coworkers rolled him onto his side and applied ice to his inflated neck.
The injury caused McCormack's lungs to fill with fluid, and the fat in his body began to separate from the muscle. The medical team was astonished that his skin had survived the ordeal, particularly given that air had been forced into his body at a pressure of 689 kilopascals (100 psi). This air had made its way into his abdomen and thorax, creating dangerous pressure on his heart.
The doctors removed the fluid from one of his lungs, took out the troublesome nozzle, and treated his painful wounds. After several days of excessive flatulence, McCormack returned to his regular, deflated state.
