Scissors Removed From Vietnamese Man’s Body After 18 Years

A Vietnamese man experiencing pain in his abdomen underwent surgery to remove a pair of surgical scissors apparently left inside his body 18 years ago.

Ma Van Nhat, 54, underwent surgery Saturday at a hospital in Thai Nguyen Province after specialists from Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi were summoned to assist with the procedure.

Nhat had undergone an ultrasound scan December 27 in an attempt to identify the cause of his abdominal pains and subsequent X-rays identified the cause as a pair of surgical scissors that had partially broken inside his body.

The patient said the scissors were apparently left inside him when he underwent surgery at Bac Kan Provincial Hospital after a road accident in 1998.

The 6-inch-long scissors were removed successfully and doctors said Nhat is expected to be discharged in about 10 days.

Trinh Thi Luong, director of Bac Kan Provincial Hospital, said officials are trying to determine who performed Nhat’s surgery in 1998.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health instructed Bac Kan to submit a report on the incident by Jan. 6.