Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Doctors rummaged around a young boy’s foot for four hours in an operating theatre in order to remove this broken sewing needle which he had accidentally stepped on.

Medics in the coastal city of Huai’an, in East China’s Jiangsu Province, said the seemingly straightforward retrieval surgery posed big challenges due to the object’s size and location.

The unnamed boy, six, was brought to Huai’an Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital and was unable to walk due to the pain in his right foot, the facility reported yesterday (16th April).

Head paediatric surgeon Zhang Youcheng eventually discovered the source of the child’s discomfort when scans showed the sewing needle between his second and third toes.

Doctor Zhang said: “When the boy arrived, he complained of pain in his foot.

“He couldn’t walk as it would hurt every time it touched the ground.

“There was clear swelling in his right foot, so we ordered scans which showed a metallic object in the ball of his foot.

“His parents said it was probably a sewing needle which he had accidentally stepped on.

“The needle was very thin and small – only about 10 millimetres (0.4 inches) – and was wrapped in his muscles.

“As his foot muscles moved, the needle constantly shifted.”

A team of medics spent four hours locating and removing the rusty sewing needle in surgery, after which metal wires had to be inserted into the foot to secure his bones, the hospital said.

The boy remains hospitalised but is expected to make a full recovery.

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