For 50-year-old Sharnappa (name changed), a native of Sindhanur taluk Raichur district, his stomach was his ‘piggy bank’.
Over the past eight to ten months, Sharnappa, a native of village in Sindhanur taluk of Raichur district, swallowed not one but over 170 coins.
The issue came to light when Sharnappa began complaining of lack of appetite, vomiting, and difficulty in passing urine.
His relatives took him to a local doctor, who guided them to go to Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Science (VIMS) hospital in Ballari.
Dr. Ravi Reddy, a surgeon, after conducting a physical examination, subjected him to an X-ray and was shocked to see coins in his stomach.
“When enquired, the patient revealed that he had been swallowing coins. But he did not give the reasons for him to do so. He may have done it due to depression,” Dr. Reddy told The Hindu .
“In consultation with our unit head Dr. Govindraj and other colleagues – Dr. Dharma Reddy and Dr Rajshekar, we decided to conduct a surgery and remove the coins. After that we informed the attenders of the patients and got their consent.”
Accordingly, surgery was performed and over 170 coins were removed. “The coins were of various denominations – rupee one, two, five. A two paise coin, and a dollar of ‘Ayyappa’ was also among the coins,” Dr. Reddy said, adding that the operation was successful and the patient was recovering.
“We will keep him under observation for about a week and later refer him to a psychiatrist for counselling,” Dr. Reddy said.
