Doctors are stunned to discover man had six electrodes drilled into his SKULL as a child by an underground surgeon to cure his epilepsy
- The man in China underwent the bizarre operation when he was four years old
- Six electrodes, each about the size of a button cell, were placed in man's skull
- Underground doctor said electrodes can 'lead electrical signals out of the body'
- Years later, doctors at a hospital finally removed the metal chips during surgery
Doctors treating an epileptic man in east China were shocked to find six electrodes embedded in the skull of the patient.
It turns out the man had an operation to drill six holes into his skull to place the small pieces of metal in his head when he was four years old following advice from an underground surgeon, according to Chinese reports.
The man told reporters that the 'treatment' did not improve his condition and he 'felt cheated'.
Doctors treating an epileptic man in Hefei city, east China's Anhui province were shocked to find six electrodes embedded in the skull of the patient
It turns out the man had an operation to drill six holes into his skull to place the small pieces of metal in his head when he was four years old following advice from an underground surgeon
The man was admitted to hospital in Hefei, Anhui province on Friday for treatment after a seizure, according to video news site Pear.
An X-ray scan revealed the embedded metal chips, prompting doctors to immediately extract them in an operation.
'A total of six holes were drilled into the skull of the patient. It was a very bizarre operation,' Dr Qian Ruobing told reporters.
'Then six electrodes, each about the size of a button cell, were placed in the skull,' he added.
The man was told by an underground surgeon years ago that the electrodes can 'lead' the electrical signals out of the brain during a seizure and can cure his epilepsy
Six electrodes, each about the size of a button cell, were placed into the skull of the patient
'The patient believed that the electrodes can "lead" the electrical signals out of the brain during a seizure and can cure his epilepsy,' Dr Qian said.
A seizure happens when there is a sudden burst of intense electrical activity in the brain, which causes a disruption to the way it works.
The father, named Fu Shaohong, told reporters that he saw the commercial for the underground surgeon on television.
'I called the doctor and he said the treatment has an 80 per cent chance of success,' Fu said. 'At the time, I was really happy to hear that and believed him.'
The patient's father said the underground doctor told him the 'treatment' has an 80 per cent chance of success
'It didn't work at all,' the patient told reporters in his hospital bed. 'I felt cheated by the doctor'
'It didn't work at all,' the patient told reporters in his hospital bed after the removal surgery. 'I felt cheated by the doctor.'
China has vowed to step up its fight against 'irregularities' in the health sector after a series of high-profile scandals in the industry in recent months, state media reported in January.
In December, police arrested the founder of Quanjian Nature Medicine Technology, a traditional Chinese medicine firm, amid allegations of fraudulent practice following the death of a seven-year-old girl who had used the company's products as part of her cancer treatment.
Market regulators are also investigating local branches of Infinitus, a multi-billion-yuan Chinese company, after it was accused of selling products that damaged a child's heart.
