Doctors treating a man suffering from chest pains was shocked to discover an entire metal spoon lodged in his food pipe.
The 26-year-old man swallowed the spoon as part of a stunt during a drunken bet a year ago, according to the hospital in Urumqi, Xinjiang.
Following an X-ray and an endoscopy – where a tiny plastic tube with an attached camera is inserted in the patient’s body – doctors retrieved the 20-centimetre (eight-inch) long utensil.
During the bet a year ago, the man said he could swallow the stainless steel spoon and then pull it back out using a string attached to the handle while intoxicated.
However, the stunt didn’t go as planned and he couldn’t get the spoon back out. He did not seek medical attention then because he was still able to eat and drink normally, according to the Xinjiang Meikuang General Hospital in a news release on Wednesday.
The patient, surnamed Zhang, finally sought help from doctors after being punched in the chest a few days ago, causing him to have chest pains and difficulty breathing.
‘I was shocked. I have never anything like this,’ Dr Yu Xiwu said. ‘When we admitted the patient, his oesophagus was already infected.’
Doctors decided that the safest way to extract the spoon was to remove it the way it went in – from his mouth.
Zhang was put under general anaesthetic on Monday while doctors carefully extracted the spoon with endoscopy equipment in a two-hour operation.
The hospital said the man is recovering well and could be discharged in the next two days.
The unusual accident suffered by patient Zhang is not unique.