In a bizarre case, doctors of a city hospital found 12 gold biscuits each weighing 33g inside the abdomen of a 63-year-old businessman.
The businessman had come to the hospital for surgery, stating that he had swallowed a water bottle cap and wanted to get it out of his body.
“He approached us on April 7 seeking surgery to remove a water bottle cap which he claimed he had accidentally swallowed. We got an X-ray done and it didn’t appear to be a cap. As the gold bars got stacked one behind the other it appeared to be a metal,” said Dr C S Ramachandran, senior consulting surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram hospital.
A team of doctors operated upon him on Apr 9 to get through the abdominal cavity and remove the foreign metal.
“We were shocked to find not one but 12 gold biscuits in his abdomen. When we asked him he was not ready to speak. We immediately sealed them in a container and handed it over to the medical superitendent,” said Dr Ramachandran adding that the patient was discharged on Apr 15.
The hospital authorities later informed the police and subsequently custom department officials were informed.
Dr Ramachandran said that the patient, a businessman from Chandni Chowk was a known patient and he had operated upon him thrice in the past since 1989.
“He was operated for gall bladder removal, appendicitis and incisional hernia. He had diabetes. We were shocked when gold biscuits came out of his abdomen during the operation.
“But I am at least happy that I could save his life. If it would have stayed inside for couple of more days, it would have led to severe bleeding and rapture of the intestine and septicemia. Moreover, he had severe diabetes,” said the doctor.
According to hospital sources, the man had swallowed the 12 gold biscuits, worth approximately Rs 12 lakhs in all, to smuggle them into the country from Singapore 10 days ago. He landed in trouble when he failed to get it out through his stool. It eventually started hurting him because of which he apprached the doctors.