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A 42 - year old North Indian man is recovering from a surgery after doctors removed 40 knives from his stomach.

The five-hour operation took place Friday in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, a Sikh holy city in the state of Punjab, after the Indian citizen complained of stomachache reported CNN.

Strangely, the patient had a wild urge to consume metals, which was frightening even for the experienced surgeon, mentioned Jatinder Malhotra, the operating surgeon mentioned.

"We were so nervous... a small mistake could have taken the patient's life. In my 20 years of practice, I have never seen anything like it."

Malhotra and his team took two days to plan the diagnosis and surgery. The five - hour operation took place Friday, where the doctors found folded knives. The knives, when extended, were about seven inches long.

The patient reportedly swallowed some knives folded and some unfolded. When the team of physicians took out the knives, some were folded, some were open, while some had even started rusting.

The 42 - year-old father of two is feeling much better now, after the surgery.

According to Malhotra, the patient is out of danger, but will not be released unless he receives a green signal from the psychiatrists.

Although the patient is out of danger, yet the big question which has bugged the experts is why did he start consuming the knives in the first place. Was it because of the iron deficit? When asked, the patient said that he doesn't know why he started swallowing knives in the first place.

"I just enjoyed its taste and I was addicted ... how people get addicted to alcohol and other things, my situation was similar."

According to Malhotra, the patient suffers from a rare mental disorder, which is yet to be published in any international medical journal.

The patient told doctors that he has no idea why he started eating knives but that he "developed a taste for metal" and "loved the way blades tasted."

The patient even managed to keep his habit secret from his family, according to Malhotra. He, however, has also mentioned that he will not touch another knife in his lifetime.

If the urge does strike, Malhotra and his team gave him some advice -- "we told him if you ever feel like you need more iron in your body, try spinach."