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A 13-year-old boy in New Zealand swallowed as much as 100 high-power magnets he purchased on Temu, forcing surgeons to take away tissue from his intestines, medical doctors stated on Friday.
After struggling 4 days of belly ache, the unnamed teen was taken to Tauranga Hospital on the North Island.
“He disclosed ingesting approximately 80-100 5x2mm high-power (neodymium) magnets about 1 week prior,” stated a report by hospital medical doctors within the New Zealand Medical Journal.
The magnets, which have been banned in New Zealand since January 2013, had been purchased on the net purchasing platform Temu, they stated.
An X-ray confirmed the magnets had clumped collectively in 4 straight strains contained in the kid’s intestines.
“These appeared to be in separate parts of bowel adhered together due to magnetic forces,” they stated.
No date was given for the operation.
Temu stated it had launched an investigation to make sure it complies with security necessities in New Zealand.
Docs stated the stress of the magnets had brought about necrosis — tissue loss of life — in 4 areas of the boy’s small bowel and cecum, which is a part of the big gut.
Surgeons operated to take away the lifeless tissue and retrieve the magnets, and the kid was in a position to return house after an eight-day spell in hospital.
“This case highlights not only the dangers of magnet ingestion but also the dangers of the online marketplace for our pediatric population,” stated the authors of the paper, Binura Lekamalage, Lucinda Duncan-Have been and Nicola Davis.
Surgical procedure for ingestion of magnets can result in issues later in life similar to bowel obstruction, belly hernia and persistent ache, they stated.
Temu stated it was sorry to study of the boy’s surgical procedure.
“We have launched an internal review and reached out to the authors of the New Zealand Medical Journal article to obtain more details about the case,” a spokesman stated in an announcement.
“At this stage, we have now not been in a position to verify whether or not the magnets concerned had been bought by means of Temu or determine the particular product itemizing.
“Nonetheless, our teams are reviewing relevant listings to ensure full compliance with local safety requirements.”
The Chinese language-founded e-commerce large has come beneath criticism in markets together with the European Union for allegedly not doing sufficient to rid unlawful merchandise from its platform.
Extra info:
Binura Lekamalage et al, Paediatric ingestion of 100 small high-power magnets—the hazards of the net market, New Zealand Medical Journal (2025). DOI: 10.26635/6965.6972
© 2025 AFP
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Magnets purchased on-line trigger extreme intestinal injury in 13-year-old boy (2025, October 24)
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