By Aggrey Twesigye
A team of pediatric surgeons at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital has successfully removed 50 sewing needles and broken pen pieces from the stomach of a 9-year-old boy who was allegedly forced to swallow them by his stepmother.
The victim, identified as Samuel Akamumpa, a resident of Rweibare Village in Kasheshero Sub-county, Mitooma District, had reportedly suffered severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, and dark stools for eight months before doctors discovered the foreign objects.
According to the hospital’s acting director, Dr. Deus Twesigye, scans conducted at an imaging center in Bushenyi-Ishaka revealed multiple foreign objects in the boy’s abdomen before he was referred to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital on April 28, 2026.
Dr. Twesigye said a team of seven pediatric surgeons carried out the operation using magnets to extract the 50 needles, some of which were still tied to threads, as well as fragments of crushed pens.
He added that the child received blood transfusions, antibiotics, pain medication, and proper wound care before making a successful recovery and being discharged from the hospital.
Hospital officials also said the boy is undergoing counseling and psychiatric care to help him recover from the trauma.
