A patient suffered horrific injuries after leaving a sex toy inserted in his rectum during a medical procedure.
The device was inside the patient’s anus during a routine MRI, causing a dangerous reaction between the toy’s powerful magnets and metal parts.
According to a gruesome scan, the result was that the object was dragged upwards through the patient, potentially damaging organs and tissues along the way.
Images circulating on social networks that have been viewed millions of times show the object lodged inside the patient.
The image was shared in May last year by X user ‘DreadPirateZero’, who captioned it: ‘Never use a butt plug at your MRI appointment. My God….’
The publication details how the powerful magnetic forces used to create the detailed MRI scans allegedly pushed the metal core of the silicone toy through the patient’s rectum and into the chest cavity at the “speed of sound.”
The patient reportedly purchased the sex toy on the basis that it was “100 percent silicone” which, while still not recommended to be inserted during a scan, would have been safe for interaction with magnetic energy.
But, unbeknownst to the buyer, the toy had a metal “core” that reacted to these magnetic forces.
An image shared in a now-deleted post on the internet forum Reddit shows the apparent after-effects of a patient who suffered horrific injuries from using a sex toy during an MRI.
MRI stands for “magnetic resonance imaging,” and unfortunately for the patient, powerful magnetic forces supposedly pushed the metal core of the silicone toy through the rectum and into the chest cavity at the “speed of sound.” Archive image of an MRI
While details are still unclear, one case brought to the attention of health officials sheds light on what may have happened.
This report, submitted a day before the scanned image began to be shared on the Internet, tells of a 22-year-old patient who was abandoned “screaming” after undergoing an MRI and rushed to hospital.
The anonymous health professional who filed the report said the patient had not revealed that she had the sex toy inside her before the examination began.
They said: ‘She went to have the MRI and when the MRI was finished and the technician was removing the table, the patient started screaming.
‘The patient stated that she felt nausea, pain and a feeling that she was going to faint.
‘They called an ambulance for this patient and sent her to the hospital.
‘The radiologist examined the patient on site before transport to ensure he was okay.
“The patient has not yet returned any of our calls to try to follow up and see how she is doing.”
A butt plug is a sex toy that people insert into the anus for pleasure, but they can get “lost” inside, which can require an uncomfortable hospital visit.
Experts told MailOnline that, in theory, a person could suffer significant injuries in such an event and that similar scenarios have occurred in the past.
Professor Adam Taylor, a human anatomy expert at Lancaster University, told MailOnline that the sex toy was unlikely to move “at the speed of sound”.
“The speed at which ferromagnetic materials move in a magnetic resonance field is proportional to the mass of the object and its distance from the magnetic field,” he said.
‘Things like clips or forks would easily reach 65km/h if they were in the field.
“As this ‘toy’ was predominantly silicone with a metal core, it is possible that it moved at a speed but not close to the speed of sound.”
He added that such an event, if it occurred, could be very serious.
“Internal objects that have ferromagnetic interaction could move within the body and damage major blood vessels, nerves or organs, causing traumatic injuries and potentially even death,” he said.
Professor Taylor said there had been previous cases of patients with serious mental health problems who, unbeknownst to staff, had swallowed metal objects and been horribly injured during an MRI scan.
One such case involved a 65-year-old man with schizophrenia who had swallowed items such as metal casings and a hinge pin, and saw his stomach torn open during an MRI.
In a similar incident, a young child who had swallowed 11 small magnets suffered a severe intestinal perforation during a scan.
The study found that the incidence of objects that need to be removed from the rectum is increasing and cases are increasing particularly in men. There were 514 procedures to remove items from the rectum between April 2021 and March 2022, according to NHS data
People in their 50s were the most likely to have an object stuck in their rectum, followed by people in their 20s.
Other incidents in which patients have concealed firearms before undergoing an MRI have also resulted in injury or death, as the magnetic forces cause the firearm to discharge with fatal results.
Professor Taylor said doctors were very aware of the dangers posed by metal objects in MRI scans and were asking patients if they have devices such as pacemakers or if they regularly work with metal as part of minimizing the risks.
“People in certain occupations may also need additional checks, people who work with metal may have small fragments in and around their eyes or under the skin, which can be problematic if they move during the scan,” he said.
Professor Taylor advised people to avoid inserting a sex toy, or any other object, into themselves before an MRI, even one that was not metallic.
“Inserting any sexual or other toys into the body is discouraged as it may cause complications during the procedure and, if medical staff are not aware, may delay treatment,” he said.
“Placing sex toys or other things on the body during an imaging procedure can cause image artifacts, which can mean whoever is looking at the scan may miss something important.”
‘Checklists and protocols for medical procedures and scans exist for a reason: to ensure you receive the best treatment. “Anything that reduces this efficiency may result in the need for additional surgery, repeat imaging, or worse.”