A 12-year-old boy from central China had to undergo emergency surgery after inserting 39 magnetic beads into his penis.
The youngster's parents took him to a children's hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province on January 13 after he suffered from constant pain and difficulty while urinating.
The boy, nicknamed Xiaorui, later told doctors that he had inserted the string of metallic balls into his urethra 'out of curiosity'.
Dr Wang Jun of the Wuhan Children Hospital's urology department told Hubei Television that the child at first said he had swallowed the Buckyballs, which were each about five millimetres in diameter.
However, he was shocked to see the tiny magnet balls aligned in a 'U' shape along the boy's urinary tract following an X-ray.
Xiaorui later admitted that he had inserted the beads into his penis out of curiosity.
'Painful urination, also known as dysuria, would cause urinary retention, abdominal pain and in some cases, vomiting,' Dr Wang noted.
The situation was made worse by the fact the beads were magnetic, and so were grouped together.
Eventually, doctors conducted a minimally invasive surgery to extract the balls via the boy's bladder.
The young patient is recovering well in hospital and can pass urine normally again, according to the report.
According to Dr Wang, there had been a spike in similar cases where young children aged between 11 and 12 would need surgery to remove magnetic beads from their bodies. The beads are a common feature in a range of popular toys.
In May last year, a 14-year-old toddler in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province had to undergo surgery to remove 21 magnetic beads after swallowing them from a toy.
The balls had formed a ring in his stomach, causing a fever and severe vomiting.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
