Doctors save boy who swallowed eight needles

A young boy who accidentally swallowed eight needles has been saved by doctors.

Jug of used needles. Image AP

Doctors in northeastern Peru have saved the life of a two-year-old boy who had swallowed eight injection needles while playing.

"It was once we were in the operating room and we opened up his abdomen that we found those metal pieces, (and realised) they were really needles," Dr Efrain Salazar said.

Local media reported the needles were used to vaccinate farm animals where the boy's mother works.

The boy, whose name was not revealed, lives in agricultural area of Taratopo, some 622km from the capital Lima.

"Maybe he swallowed them when he was there playing," the boy's mother said.

The boy's life was not at risk following surgery, local media added.

The boy is temporarily on a liquid diet due to the fragility of his intestines but is expected to be able to leave the hospital in two or three days.

with EFE