An 11-year-old boy who had inserted 19 magnetic beads up his penis is recovering after emergency surgery in south-west China.
Astonishingly, the boy had suffered in silence for more than a year before the agony became too much to bear and he confessed to his parents.
The magnets – joined together on a four-inch long chain – had become lodged in the boy’s bladder.
Graphic hospital X-rays show the beads clustered together in a circle inside the boy’s body.
Post-surgery pictures -taken at the Children’s Hospital in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province – show the beads after they had been removed in the delicate op on 1st February.
One of the urologists who treated the boy, Doctor Guo Tao said: “Out of curiosity, the child had inserted foreign objects into his genitals a year ago.
“The feeling of endless urination appeared a few months ago, but he didn’t pay attention to it during that period and never asked his parents for help.”
Doctor Tao used the opportunity to raise awareness about children receiving poor sex education and warned other parents to give them correct guidance to avoid serious consequences.