Doctors Remove 40 Knives From Man's Stomach In India (Photos)

The man kept his knife-eating habit secret from
his family
"In my 20 years of practice, I have never seen
anything like it," doctor says
New Delhi (CNN): A man in India spent two months
swallowing knives and had 40 of them surgically
removed from his stomach, according to the doctor
who led the operation.

"He had a wild urge to consume metal. Even for us,
the experienced surgeons, it was frightening," Dr.
Jatinder Malhotra told CNN.

"We were so nervous... a small mistake could have
taken the patient's life. In my 20 years of practice, I
have never seen anything like it."

Malhotra said it took his team about two days to
form a diagnosis and surgery plan.
The five-hour operation took place Friday in the
northern Indian city of Amritsar, a Sikh holy city in
the state of Punjab.

Malhotra said they found foldable knives, which
when fully extended were about seven inches long.

"He [the patient] says he swallowed some knives
folded, and some unfolded. When we took out the
knives -- some were found folded, some were open,
and some had even started rusting and were
broken," Malhotra said.

The patient, a 42-year-old father of two, told CNN
he's feeling much better.

"I'm sorry I let my family down. I'll be forever
thankful to doctors and hospital staff for saving my
life," he said.

Malhotra says the patient is now "out of danger"
and is set to be discharged in a couple of days.

He won't be discharged until he's cleared by
psychiatrists, which is set to happen in a couple of
days, two doctors at the hospital told CNN.

But the big question remains -- why did he start
eating knives?

"I don't know why I used to swallow knives," the
patient told CNN. "I just enjoyed its taste and I was
addicted ... how people get addicted to alcohol and
other things, my situation was similar."

Malhotra believes the patient has a very rare mental
disorder that most likely has not been published in
any international medical journal.

The patient is currently under the continuous
supervision of the hospital's in-house psychiatric
team and will soon be visited by independent
mental health experts, doctors said.

The patient told doctors that he has no idea why he
started eating knives but that he "developed a taste
for metal" and "loved the way blades tasted."

The patient even managed to keep his habit secret
from his family, according to Malhotra.

Now, Malhotra says, the patient claims he won't
even touch a knife anymore.

"I will never do such acts ever again," the patient
said. "I'm a new person now."

If the urge does strike, Malhotra and his team gave
him some advice -- "we told him if you ever feel like
you need more iron in your body, try spinach."

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