A man has had scissors removed from his abdomen
which were left behind during surgery 18 years ago,
after reporting a stomachache that was nearly two
decades in the making.
Ma Van Nhat, 54-year old Vietnamese, underwent
surgery in 1998 after a car accident and only recently
discovered that doctors had left an unwelcome gift
behind when they closed him up.
Doctors discovered the 15-centimetre (six-inch)
scissors near his colon after a recent ultrasound.
He had a three-hour operation at the weekend to
remove the scissors, according to Ngo Trung Thang,
deputy head of general affairs at Gang Thep Thai
Nguyen hospital, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of
Hanoi.
"He is recovering well," Thang told AFP Tuesday.
Nhat had spent nearly two decades "eating, drinking
and having a pretty normal life", according to Suc Khoe
va Doi Song news site, the official mouthpiece of
Vietnam's health ministry.
The ultrasound that discovered the scissors only came
about after Nhat reported stomach pains.
Officials said they were searching for the doctors who
performed surgery in Bac Kan province in 1998, but
have not yet tracked down any culprits.
