Doctors have removed 17 magnetic beads from the stomach of a 19-month-old-boy after he swallowed them and they pierced his stomach wall.

The incident took place in the western Turkish town of Pamukkale, which is located in Denizli province.

The young child, who has been named as Murat Oezdemir by local media outlet Haberturk, was taken to Pamukkale University Hospital by his concerned family members after falling ill last week.

Doctors performed an X-ray and noticed foreign bodies inside the child’s stomach, according to local media outlet Haberler.

An X-ray image shows the magnetic beads all stuck together inside the young boy’s body. Local media outlets report that the beads can often be found at markets where they are sold as toys.

Dr Halil Kocamaz, a paediatric gastroenterologist, along with his team, removed the 17 magnetic beads, which each reportedly measured 5 millimetres (0.19 inches) in diameter, from the child’s stomach.

Haberturk reports that the beads formed a bracelet when connected together and it was determined by the doctors that they had pierced the young boy’s stomach.

The operation to remove them reportedly took approximately two hours and the child is currently recovering in hospital after the surgery.