A Brazilian drug addict was forced to get five fingers amputated after injecting himself with crushed morphine tablets.
The 51-year-old man rushed to the hospital in 'severe' pain barely an hour after administering the three pills into his right forearm.
Doctors in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, gave him anesthetic — but found the fingers above the injection site were already cold and had turned blue.
Meanwhile, the patient's forearm began to swell leaving doctors with no option but to cut it open to drain the fluid.
The man was then rushed to the intensive care unit after it emerged damaged muscles had released bits of proteins into his blood.
When this happens — in a condition known as rhabdomyolysis — it can be fatal because the shards may damage the heart and kidneys. Doctors said the man also needed kidney support.
Ten days after he was admitted to hospital, all five fingers on his right hand were amputated. The patient — who was also described as an alcoholic — was discharged after four days, but returned later for reconstructive surgery on the stump.
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