Doctors in Brazil hope to remove 42 metal sewing needles -- some as long as two inches -- that were inserted into the boy's body, possibly as part of a black magic ritual. AP Doctors in Brazil hope to remove 42 metal sewing needles -- some as long as two inches -- that were inserted into the boy's body, possibly as part of a black magic ritual. Related News * Articles * Radiation from CT scans will kill nearly 15,000 * Creepy killer's t-shirt homage to victim angers family * X-Ray Vision: Keeping the biceps together * X-Ray Vision: AC joint separations Surgeons in Brazil are attempting to save a two-year-old human "voodoo doll." Doctors in Barreiras hope to remove 42 metal sewing needles -- some as long as two inches -- that were inserted into the boy's body, possibly as part of a black magic ritual. An official said Thursday that the boy is being airlifted to a hospital in northeastern Brazil because two of the needles are close to his heart, the Associated Press reports. "He'll be flown by helicopter to a hospital in Salvador that has a special heart unit," a hospital official, who wished to remain unnamed, told AP. "He has two needles near his heart and our doctors didn't want to take a chance." The boy's doctor, Dr. Luiz Cesar Soltoski, told the Associated Press that the needles in his lungs cannot be removed either until his breathing improves. He added that some other needles can't be taken out because they are close to or inside organs. The toddler's former stepfather was detained on Wednesday and confessed, Brazil’s Globo TV reports. He told police he inserted the needles with under the orders of two women. Helder Fernandes Santana, the police officer overseeing the case, told the Agencia Estado news agency that the motives they were looking into for the crime included black magic. The boy's mother, a maid, told police she had no idea how the needles got inside her son. But Gessivaldo Alves, the toddler’s father, told the A Tarde newspaper that he had visited the boy's home and found undisclosed items that could be used for black magic rituals. The toddler was admitted to hospital in the small northeastern city of Ibotirama last Thursday after complaining of pain. X-rays revealed three days later that he was stuffed with needles, and doctors moved him to a larger hospital in Barreiras. "We think it could have only been by penetration because we found needles in the lung, the left leg and in different parts of the thorax. It couldn't have been by ingestion," Soltoski said. Brazilian web sites published x-ray images showing needles deep inside the toddler's body, but doctors saw no outside wounds. The boy is currently in stable condition in intensive care. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/12/17/2009-12-17_brazilian_boy_with_42_needles_in_body.html#ixzz0a1DtxL5F