PHOTOS: After 34 years, scalpel removed from patient's body in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – In an operation in Erbil on Wednesday, a scalpel was removed from the body of a 73-year-old man, which appears to have been left there during a previous operation 34 years ago.

The patient, known as Abdulqadir, had undergone surgery only onece before in his life, when part of his small intestine was removed in 1984.

Dr. Sarhang Hussein, who removed the scalpel at Erbil’s Rizgari Hospital, told Kurdistan 24 that the patient had experienced abdominal pain a few days ago and visited the hospital. An X-Ray taken to diagnose the cause of the pain showed an unusually clear cause; a sharp iron surgical instrument to the left side of his stomach, against the sigmoid colon, Hussein said.

“In a new surgery which took less than an hour, we removed the scalpel from his body.”

Kurdistan 24 has learned that the doctor who made the initial surgery 34 years ago is deceased.

Dr. Hussein explained that Abdulqadir’s health condition is now stable, and he is under doctors’ supervision.

See photos showing the X-ray and the procedure to remove the scalpel below. 

Editing by John J. Catherine