A doctor took out a mobile charger cord from the urinary bladder of a 30-year-old man despite the man "misleading" the surgeon into operating on his stomach.

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Walliul Islam, a consultant surgeon at a private hospital, said on June 5 that the man came to him a few days back and informed him that he was having stomach ache after consuming a headphone cable by mistake. "The man lied as nothing was found in his gastrointestinal tract after surgery. Subsequently, an X-ray detected the cable of a mobile charger in his urinary bladder. The man had inserted the mobile charging cord through his penis," the doctor told the media on June 5. He added that the cord was taken out successfully and the patient is recovering. "The surgery could have been avoided had the man told the actual fact. The cord could have been removed via the penile urethra through which he had inserted it," the surgeon said.

Islam posted his reaction on his Facebook page, saying: "Surprises in Surgery! After 25 years of experience in surgery, I continue to be surprised and shocked by instances like this where my intellectual and surgical skills are challenged. A 30-year old man came to me with complaints of abdomen pain and history of accidental ingestion of headphones. I operated upon him to find nothing in his gastrointestinal tract. But instead discovered a mobile phone charger cord in his urinary bladder. All of you must have guessed the entry point and route (it entered through his penile urethra to his urinary bladder) his mental health remains a question. Surgery was successful and the patient is recovering, everything is possible on this earth, indeed !"

The man was said to be in the habit of inserting objects through his penis to have sexual enjoyment. "The act can be termed as urethral masturbation or urethral sounding. In his case, the cord got lodged in the urinary bladder connected to the urethra. I never found a case like this in my 25-year medical service career," Islam said, refusing to disclose the identity of the patient. The surgery was done at the private hospital since most government hospitals in Guwahati have been notified as COVID-19 treatment centres.