A Chinese man has had a four-inch blade surgically removed from his head after four years of self-medication with anesthetic injections.
Mr Ni had been suffering from severe headaches for more than four years before seeking treatment for what he supposed was an aural disease. After taking X-rays of his head, doctors were shocked to find a four-inch blade stuck in his brain.
"We checked his mouth, but no injury or scar has been found. It is very odd as to how the blade got into his head," said Xu Wen, deputy director of the stomatology department of the People's Hospital in Yuxi city.
Mr Ni later recalled being attempted in the lower right jaw during a fight with a robber four years ago. After that, he had suffered regular headaches, difficulty swallowing food, a gruff voice and had occasionally spoke gibberish.
Previous hospital examinations had found no cause of the symptoms. "As time went on, I used injections to kill pain in head and ears. It has now been four years," Mr Ni said. The rusty blade luckily did not touch the brain artery nor facial nerves, keeping him narrowly alive.
Mr Ni is now getting better from the operation in hospital.
