A 13-year-old teenager from New Zealand underwent surgery after swallowing between 80 and 100 neodymium magnets, which he claimed were purchased from the online shopping platform Temu. After four days of severe abdominal pain, the boy was admitted to Tauranga Hospital, where X-rays showed four chains of magnets lodged in his intestine, causing pressure and necrosis in the surrounding tissues.
Doctors managed to extract nearly 200 magnets from his intestine. Following the surgery, the boy spent eight days in the hospital. The authors of the medical report emphasize the dangers of ingesting magnets and the risks associated with online purchases for children. Temu stated that it is investigating the incident but cannot confirm whether the magnets were purchased through its platform. New Zealand banned the sale of small and powerful magnets in 2013 due to similar incidents.
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