World War I Shell discovery inside a French hospital patient triggered evacuations, bomb disposal teams, and police action.
Doctors at an emergency department in the southern French city of Toulouse recently found themselves facing a situation they never expected. Standing in the hospital corridor, they exchanged stunned looks. Being a doctor can be dangerous, but this case felt dangerously close to being explosive.
A Late Night Visit With an Alarming Complaint
Late on Saturday night, a 24 year old man arrived at the hospital asking for urgent help. He told medical staff that he had inserted an object into his rectum and could not remove it. He was experiencing severe pain in his lower abdomen. 
At first, nothing about the request seemed unusual. According to French media, medical staff in Toulouse are accustomed to treating patients injured during sexual activities. Unusual foreign objects are, unfortunately, not rare in emergency rooms.
Doctors initially assumed this would be a routine removal procedure. That assumption did not last long.
A Shocking Discovery in the Operating Room
Once the procedure began, the medical team realized something was very wrong. The object lodged inside the patient was not a typical foreign body. It was a shell.
The projectile was nearly 20 centimeters long. Its appearance closely resembled anti tank ammunition used during World War I, particularly models once deployed by German forces.
The shell appeared to be well preserved. That was precisely the problem. No one could be sure whether it was still live. If it detonated, the consequences would be catastrophic for everyone in the operating room.
This was far beyond what hospital staff could handle.
Police, Firefighters, and Bomb Experts Step In
Doctors immediately contacted the authorities. The response was swift. Police, firefighters, and a bomb disposal unit were dispatched to the hospital.
Hospital staff and patients were evacuated as a precaution. A security perimeter was established, and everyone within it was placed on high alert. As for the patient, he was likely experiencing a different kind of crisis altogether, one involving irreversible embarrassment.
After a tense wait, explosives specialists examined the shell. They carefully dismantled and assessed it. Eventually, they confirmed that the projectile no longer posed an explosion risk.
Only then were doctors allowed to proceed.
Removal Without Detonation
The shell was successfully removed during surgery. The hospital did not release images of the actual object, which is understandable given the circumstances.
The patient’s identity has not been made public. After the removal, he remained under medical care for further treatment and observation.
French authorities noted one unexpected detail. The man did not claim that the object had entered his body by accident. He openly admitted that he had inserted the shell himself. How he obtained a nearly century old piece of military ammunition has not been disclosed.
Legal Trouble May Follow Medical Recovery
As humiliating as the incident already was, the ordeal may not be over. Police have stated that the man will be questioned this week. Prosecutors are considering whether to file charges related to illegal possession of military ammunition.
If the case proceeds to court, it is almost guaranteed to attract intense media attention. That possibility alone adds another layer to an already unforgettable experience.
Old Ammunition Still Found Across France
In parts of France, especially former battle zones, unexploded ordnance from the two World Wars still exists. Construction workers and farmers occasionally uncover shells while working.
Those discoveries usually happen underground or in fields. Finding such an object inside a human body is far less common. Rare does not mean impossible.
Not the First Time This Has Happened
In fact, a strikingly similar case occurred in 2022. An 88 year old man was admitted to a hospital with a World War I era shell lodged inside his body. That incident also led to evacuations and bomb disposal teams being called in.
It seems that, at least in this peculiar category, there is a strange sense of continuity.
Online Reactions Were Brutally Honest
News of the incident quickly spread online, where commenters wasted no time expressing disbelief.
Some questioned why anyone would choose such a dangerous object, especially when safer alternatives exist. Others turned to dark humor and national stereotypes. One joked that if you stand up to your enemies, they cannot sneak up behind you.
Another commenter suggested that finding a colorectal surgeon with bomb disposal experience must be nearly impossible. Others noted that while doctors often remove strange objects from patients, World War I artillery shells are still very rare.
Several comments reflected on the broader idea that while many objects can technically become sex toys, that does not mean they should.
A Disturbing Legal Hypothetical
One unsettling question lingers. If the shell had exploded and the patient somehow survived, what would have happened next.
Would the incident be treated as a tragic accident. Or could it have been interpreted as a form of terrorism. If prosecutors pursued such a charge, the outcome could have been severe.
In that case, the man might have ended up with a life sentence. Ironically, he would no longer need a shell to feel trapped.
Just imagining that scenario is unsettling enough.
