Doctors at a government-run hospital in West Bengal’s Kolkata have removed nine needles from the throat of a 14-year-old girl from the state’s Nadia district after a four-hour surgery.
The girl from Krishnagar was brought to Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital on Monday and was operated upon the next day.
Surgeons could not say how the needles were lodged inside her throat as the girl was not in a condition to speak. Hospital authorities said the needles were not swallowed by the girl but were inserted from outside.
Ear-nose-throat (ENT) surgeon Manoj Mukherjee said while speaking to reporters that the needles were stuck in the muscles of the girl’s neck and did not penetrate the food pipe.
The girl’s parents refused to speak to the media.
She was taken to the district hospital after she complained of a pain in her throat on July 29. Doctors at the district hospital found one needle at the back of her throat and eight near the food pipe after an x-ray.
The girl’s neighbours in Krishnagar alleged that a soothsayer might be behind the incident.
“The elder brother of the girl died about three years ago. Then the couple adopted a baby girl, who too, died. Following these two mishaps in the family, their daughter went into a depression,” a neighbour, who requested anonymity, said.
{{/usCountry}}“The elder brother of the girl died about three years ago. Then the couple adopted a baby girl, who too, died. Following these two mishaps in the family, their daughter went into a depression,” a neighbour, who requested anonymity, said.
{{/usCountry}}“We suspect her parents took her to a soothsayer to bring her back into normal life,” the neighbour added.