PESHAWAR: In an unusual occurrence, surgeons in Peshawar recovered 22 pieces of metal from the stomach of a young patient on Thursday.

The 22-year-old woman, a resident of Kurram Agency's Parachinar area, complained of severe pain in her abdomen earlier this week and was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital.

After conducting an examination and reviewing x-rays carefully, doctors reached the conclusion that there were metallic objects in the patient's stomach.

Dr Sajjad, who was leading a team of surgeons at LRH, said the team operated for four hours on the patient and and removed 22 metallic objects from her stomach, including large nails and hair pins, and pieces of glass.

The woman is in stable condition now, Dr Sajjad said. He added that the patient's case history revealed that she suffered from fits and mental illness.

The surprising story comes to light just days after a similar case emerged in Indian Punjab, where doctors operated on a 42-year-old police officer and removed 40 folding knives from his stomach.

Indian doctors suspected their patient suffered from Pica, a condition described in the Journal of the American Board of Medicine as "common, but commonly missed."

Pica is the compulsive eating of non-nutritive substances and can have serious medical implications, the journal says.