The X-ray imaging revealed a 15 centimeters knife blade
A 22-year-old man in Nepal who went to the hospital with stomach pain was shocked to discover a 15-cm knife blade lodged inside his abdomen. According to Newsweek, he had been stabbed in a fight the day before, after which a local healthcare worker stitched up the wound.
However, no one suspected that the knife blade was still inside his abdomen as there was no visual clue of the weapon entering his body. As the wound was closed well, he was sent home. Moreover, he did not remember much about other events as he was in an intoxicated state with alcohol when the incident happened.
The next day, he experienced continuous abdominal discomfort and went to the hospital. His abdomen wasn’t tight, he didn’t experience any nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or constipation, and his blood levels looked normal, doctors said in the report.
However, when doctors took a closer look at his body, they found a line of stitches on his right side and enquired what happened. He told them about the stabbing incident following which he underwent various laboratory tests, including an X-ray.
When X-ray imaging came back, the doctors found the free-floating knife blade in the abdominal cavity. The blade had “wandered” from one side to the other, yet none of the surrounding organs were severely injured, his doctors reported.
He then underwent a laparotomy for the removal of the knife blade. Once his body was open, surgeons found the knife wrapped up in omentum, a tissue that hangs down from the stomach and connects it to the other abdominal organs.
Doctors said the man was expected to make a full recovery, but he did not return to the hospital for his follow-up appointments.
The complete details of the case have been mentioned in the journal Cureus.