Docs remove 63 spoons from stomach of UP man addicted to 'spoon feeding'

Lucknow, Sep 29: In a bizarre incident, Doctors in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar removed more than 63 steel spoon handles from the stomach of a 32-year-old patient who they believe had become addicted to swallowing cutlery.

The patient, identified only by his first name, Vijay, was rushed to a hospital at the weekend after complaining of severe stomach pain and had undergone a two-hour-long operation in a private hospital.

On being asked by the doctors, the patient, who is in the ICU for post-surgery recovery, said that he had been eating spoons for a year.

Dr Rakesh Khurana, the doctor who operated upon Vijay, told ANI,"We asked him if he ate those spoons and he agreed. The operation lasted for around 2 hours and he is currently in ICU. Patient has been eating spoons for 1 year.''

But his family alleged that Vijay was forcibly fed the spoons by the staff at the deaddiction centre.

The man was unable to eat or drink and complained of feeling weak at the time of admission, prompting doctors to take X-rays and CT scans to determine the cause of the pain, a doctor informed.

The doctor further informed that the man broke the head off the spoons before consumption. They believe that the patient is suffering from a psychological condition, known as pica, which causes a person to crave and compulsively eat non-food items such as coal, metal, clay or dirt.

Meanwhile, no complaint has been filed yet in this matter.