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Operation on Brazilian needle boy Operation on Brazilian needle boy
(about 3 hours later)
Brazilian doctors have begun emergency surgery on a two-year-old boy with more than 40 needles in his body. Doctors in Brazil have removed four needles from the lung and near the heart of a boy who was reportedly subjected to black magic.
They were allegedly inserted by the boy's stepfather in a series of bizarre rituals. A hospital spokeswoman said the boy, 2, was in a stable condition but more operations would be needed to remove dozens more needles still inside him.
A hospital spokeswoman in the north-eastern city of Salvador said surgeons would remove four needles that posed the biggest threat to the boy's life. The four needles removed were thought to be the most threatening to his life.
One had punctured his heart, two are near the heart and another is inside a lung, she said. His stepfather confessed to inserting the needles after being advised to perform a ritual killing.
The hospital said the operation would last at least six hours. The surgery lasted nearly five hours, said Susy Moreno, a spokeswoman for the hospital in the north-eastern city of Salvador where the boy is in intensive care.
Doctors will leave the other needles for now, but could perform more operations later, the hospital said. "He's okay, the surgery was a success, he's doing fine," she told The Associated Press by telephone.
"Many organs have been affected and there could be further risk of infection," said Francisco Reis, director of the Ana Neri hospital. Earlier, the hospital said one needle had punctured the boy's heart, two were near the heart and a fourth was inside a lung.
"The procedures themselves could pose a risk of death," he added. Doctors had warned there was a further risk of infection and the operation itself could pose a risk of death.
'Ritual killing'
Brazilian police said the stepfather had confessed to sticking the needles into the toddler with the help of another man and a woman.Brazilian police said the stepfather had confessed to sticking the needles into the toddler with the help of another man and a woman.
X-rays showed up to 40 sewing needles inside the boy
Roberto Carlos Magalhaes told them his mistress had told him to ritually kill the child to take revenge on his wife, police said.Roberto Carlos Magalhaes told them his mistress had told him to ritually kill the child to take revenge on his wife, police said.
The boy's mother had taken him to hospital in north-eastern Bahia state suffering from stomach pains and vomiting. The boy's mother had taken him to hospital in the north-eastern state of Bahia, suffering from stomach pains and vomiting.
It was then that X-rays showed scores of sewing needles inside his neck, torso and legs.It was then that X-rays showed scores of sewing needles inside his neck, torso and legs.
The youngster was airlifted to Salvador for the operation.The youngster was airlifted to Salvador for the operation.
The boy's mother told police she suspected the child had been the victim of a black magic ritual after she found suspicious objects in the home she shared with Mr Magalhaes - her husband of six months - and her six children.The boy's mother told police she suspected the child had been the victim of a black magic ritual after she found suspicious objects in the home she shared with Mr Magalhaes - her husband of six months - and her six children.