A group of medical professionals have reported a bizarre case in which they were forced to remove over 450 small metal objects from the stomach of a 37-year-old man.

Over 6 pounds (almost 3 kilograms) of screws, metal nuts, keys, plaques and “other metal parts” as well as stones were eventually found inside the patient.

Sensational X-rays show the metal mass blocking the man’s stomach outlet, causing him chronic stomach pain and frequent vomiting, leaving him unable to eat or drink.

Medical officials from the Iranian city of Ahvaz, near the Iraqi border, who reported the case said the patient was eventually diagnosed with psychosis, a mental illness in which a person loses touch with reality.

In a report on the case in the Journal of Medical Case Reports, doctors said they believed the patient had been ingesting the metal buildup for at least three months.

Sensational X-rays show the metal mass blocking the man’s stomach outlet. The 37-year-old is said to have ingested the metal accumulation over a period of at least three months.

An endoscopy, in which a small flexible camera is inserted into the neck, also confirmed the metallic mass

Paramedics took the man to the operating room and removed a total of 452 “screws, nuts, keys, stones and other metal parts” weighing 2.9 kg through an incision in his abdomen.

The patient reportedly recovered well from the surgery and was diagnosed with psychosis shortly thereafter.

psychosis can take the form of hallucinations, but can also lead to delusions about the real world and confused and bizarre thinking.

Psychosis is usually triggered by another mental illness, such as severe and chronic depression, or other causes, such as a head injury, a brain tumor or drug addiction.

The medical professionals who examined the latest case in detail did not provide any information about what they believed was the cause of the man’s psychosis, but noted that he was “severely addicted to opium.”

Despite the enormous metal intake, the man had apparently not suffered any health damage due to this problem before his first hospital admission.

Paramedics took the man out of the operating room and removed a total of 452 screws, nuts, keys, stones and other metal parts weighing 2.9 kg through an incision in his abdomen.

Further tests also showed that no metal objects had entered other parts of his digestive system.

Doctors said their patient was diagnosed with psychosis three days after gastric surgery and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital one week after the operation.

They added that the patient returned to them two weeks later for a follow-up examination and found no signs of complications.

Although the term is not used in the case report, the compulsive consumption of inedible objects such as hair, paper, or sand is medically referred to as pica.

Pica most commonly affects young children and adults with learning disabilities, but adults who are under psychological stress or duress or who have iron or zinc deficiencies in their diet can sometimes also develop the condition.

Pica can also occur in pregnant women. It is probably a reaction of the body to the need for certain nutrients.