Screw taken from man's stomach

Surgeons removed a potentially deadly, 12.5-centimeter, 23-year-old screw from the stomach artery of a man from Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

Doctors at the No.2 Hospital Affiliated to the Shaanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Xianyang, Shaanxi province removed the screw from the stomach of a 58-year-old man on March 4.

The man is still recovering.

A resident of Zhouzhi county, the man surnamed Xiong sought treatment for pain in his right hip joint in January.

The X-ray exposed a screw inserted into an artery in his stomach.

He said he had surgery for a neck fracture in 1991 when three screws were inserted. Two were later removed, but doctors said the last one didn't need taking out.

The screw fixed to the joint entered the stomach through Xiong's movements, said Bai Benjian, director of thoracic surgery at Xianyang hospital.

"It must have been a long process. A massive hemorrhage would be caused if the screw inserted itself quickly into the artery," Bai said.