In a bizarre incident, doctors in Ireland removed 55 AA and AAA batteries from a woman's stomach and gut.
The 66-year-old woman was being treated at St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin following ingestion of an initially “unknown number” of cylindrical batteries, many of which were later found to be in her abdomen with the help of an X-ray.
Doctors initially waited to see if the woman could pass the batteries naturally, but decided for surgery after she could only pass five batteries in the first week.
"To the best of our knowledge, this case represents the highest reported number of batteries ingested at a single point in time," the doctors said.
The 55 batteries, the highest ever reported, were apparently swallowed by the 66-year-old in an act of self-harm.
Surprisingly, none of the batteries damaged the woman's GI tract, and no structural damage to her body was reported either.
The case has been published in the Irish Medical Journal.
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