Man discovers he has a blade buried in his torso 15 months after knife attack in the Philippines

‘I keep getting stabbing chest pains, Doctor…’: Man discovers he has a blade buried in his torso 15 months after knife attack in the Philippines

  • Kent Ryan Tomao, 25, was stabbed 15 months ago in Kidapawan, Phillipines
  • Went to public hospital where the doctors stitched his wound and didn’t X-ray
  • During X-ray for a new job he was shocked to discover the blade still in his torso


A man who was stabbed by youths 15 months ago was shocked to learn the blade was still buried in his torso after the knife attack in the Philippines. 

A gang of teens stabbed Kent Ryan Tomao, 25, in the city of Kidapawan, Cotabato, in January last year.  

The knife victim was taken to a public hospital but the attending doctor only stitched his wound and failed to do an X-ray, according to local media.

The 25 year old (pictured) was stabbed by a gang of youths 15 months ago in Kidapawan, Philippines

Kent Ryan Tomao, 25, discovered he had a blade buried in his torso 15 months after he was stabbed by a gang of youth in Kidapawan, Philippines

It wasn’t until he had to undergo a routine X-ray as a requirement for a new job that he realised the knife was still inside his body.    

Speaking about the discovery, Mr Tomao said: ‘I always wonder why I feel some pain in my chest when the weather is cold but I had no idea there was a knife still in there.’  

He said the injury bothered him in cold weather but he did not suspect anything was wrong until he applied to work at a mine in the Philippine province of Agusan del Sur. 

The 25-year-old man was stunned to learn that the blade of the knife he was stabbed with 15 months ago was still lodged in his chest close to his lungs.

During a routine X-ray of a new job, Mr Tomao was shocked to learn the blade (bottom left) that had stabbed him had been left inside him, which he said explained why he felt pain in his chest in the cold weather

During a routine X-ray of a new job, Mr Tomao was shocked to learn the blade (bottom left) that had stabbed him had been left inside him, which he said explained why he felt pain in his chest in the cold weather

He told Philippine media group ABS-CBN News: ‘The doctor just closed it and said the wound was not that bad.’

He said he is planning to return to the same public health centre in Kidapawan to have the blade removed.

He added that he does not want to take legal action against the hospital or the doctor who treated him for failing to detect the knife.