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X-ray representation of magnets successful the abdomen. (Lekamalage et al., NZMJ, 2025)
A 13-year-old lad successful New Zealand has had portion of his bowel surgically removed aft helium ingested astir 200 high-powered magnets.
According to a caller lawsuit report, the kid presented to Tauranga Hospital with abdominal pain, admitting to having swallowed perchance 100 neodymium magnets astir a week prior. The existent fig retrieved from his abdomen ended up being overmuch higher.
Related: Kids Keep Eating Magnets, And Surgeons Say There's Only 1 Way to Stop It
Using an X-ray, doctors imaged 4 linear chains successful abstracted parts of the boy's bowel.
X-ray showing the magnet chains successful the abdomen of the New Zealand teen. (Lekamalage et al., NZMJ, 2025)Once wrong his abdomen, the tiny metallic objects came unneurotic successful a destructive way.
During surgery, the chains were recovered successful abstracted sections of the tiny bowel and caecum. Squeezing together, they were causing respective patches of insubstantial to dice from a deficiency of humor successful what is known arsenic unit necrosis.
Though the surgeons were forced to region portion of his bowel, the teen recovered good and was discharged 8 days later.
The magnet chains recovered successful the abdomen of the New Zealand teen. (Lekamalage et al., NZMJ, 2025)"As this lawsuit survey shows, ingesting tiny high-powered magnets is life-threatening," says commercialized instrumentality researcher Alex Sims from the University of Auckland.
"Small high-power magnets person been marketed and sold arsenic amusive toys for adults and children erstwhile they are sold successful sets, arsenic they tin beryllium utilized to marque antithetic shapes and besides beryllium utilized arsenic fidget toys. Unfortunately, they often travel arsenic brightly colored tiny balls, making them charismatic for children to swallow."
The crushed the teen swallowed the magnets was not explained successful the report.
Recently, authorities officials successful New Zealand warned of a inclination connected societal media wherever kids are encouraged to usage magnets to make tongue, nose, oregon articulator piercings. These tin beryllium accidentally swallowed with unsafe consequences.
In 2013, aft a bid of hospitalizations owed to magnets, New Zealand authorities officials permanently banned the merchantability of those made from neodymium-iron-boron (NIB). These are known arsenic 'rare world magnets', and they are up to 50 times stronger than emblematic ferrous ones.
The 13-year-old treated astatine Taurang Hospital told doctors the magnets helium swallowed were purchased from the overseas online marketplace TemuTM.
Doctors connected his lawsuit accidental it is "alarming" however hard it is to really enforce New Zealand's ban.
"While enforcement is problematic, arsenic it is much hard for the Commerce Commission to analyse and unit overseas online marketplaces to halt the merchantability of tiny high-powered magnets, it is concerning if children are purchasing goods connected online marketplaces," says Sims.
"Parents should not beryllium allowing their children to acquisition items unsupervised connected immoderate online marketplaces; each purchases indispensable beryllium done oregon astatine slightest overseen by parents."
Even erstwhile parents are vigilant, mistakes tin happen. In 2024, a young New Zealander swallowed 2 uncommon world magnets astatine a day party.
"When the doctors took the X-rays of her, it was casual to spot the magnets had connected to each other," her parent said.
"However, 1 had passed into the intestine, and the different had stayed successful her stomach. The magnetic propulsion had caused them to link done the insubstantial and caused a teardrop successful her stomach. This meant my girl had to acquisition exigency surgery."
If a young idiosyncratic is suspected of having swallowed a magnet, officials accidental it is captious that they are taken to the infirmary arsenic soon arsenic possible. More than 75 percent of patients volition necessitate country oregon an endoscopy.
"Accessibility to high-power magnets is simply a rising interest for our pediatric population," constitute surgeons astatine Tauranga Hospital.
The lawsuit survey was published successful the New Zealand Medical Journal.
