Man swallows mobile phone, undergoes successful surgery

Surgeons at a hospital in Egypt successfully removed a small mobile phone from a patient’s stomach after it caused a life-threatening blockage.

The unnamed patient arrived at the Hurghada General Hospital experiencing severe abdominal pain, continuous vomiting, and extreme fatigue, according to the Red Sea Health Directorate.

Imaging scans revealed a foreign object obstructing the stomach, later identified as a compact mobile phone the patient had accidentally swallowed.

Dr Karim El Shabrawy, the hospital director, told reporters that a specialised medical team performed an urgent surgery to remove the device.

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The procedure was completed without complications, and the patient regained consciousness in recovery with stable vital signs. The patient remains under observation, though officials have not disclosed how the phone ended up in the stomach.

The Hurghada incident adds to a growing list of unusual swallowing cases documented worldwide, which have included patients ingesting everything from dozens of knives to pounds of nails and screws.

Egypt previously reported a similar case in 2021, when a mobile phone became lodged in a patient’s esophagus and required emergency intervention.