17973

Repeated Ingestion of Sharp-Pointed Metallic Objects

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A 20-year-old woman was brought to the surgical outpatient department with the strange history of irresistible desire to ingest metallic substances, mainly nails and pins. Her problems were initiated after she was forced to marry against her wish. She had no abdominal complaints and on examination the abdomen appeared absolutely normal. Plain radiograph confirmed numerous nails and pins inside her GI tract. On detailed psychologic evaluation, she was found to be suffering from deviant sexual behavior and marriage against her wish acted as a stressor in the development of this habit.

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