Horrified doctors removed a 30cm-long live eel from a man's belly after it apparently slid up his rectum.
The 34-year-old man from the northern Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal cramps after complaining of stomach aches.
Local media claims he was given an X-ray and an ultrasound, which showed he had a foreign body lurking in his abdomen.
It had caused him intestinal perforation and peritonitis — a life-threatening complication when the tissue lining the abdomen becomes swollen.
The patient was given urgent surgery to remove the mystery object.A Vietnamese man, 34, left surgeons horrified after they pulled out a foot-long eel from his belly during an operation
The eel was believed to have entered the patient's body by entering his anus, sliding up his colon, and biting through his intestine
When the surgeons opened up his abdomen, they were stunned to see the slimy liquid Test creature.Grim images show medics using tongs to pull out the eel, which was as long as a standard ruler.The surgeons proceeded to carefully remove necrotic tissue from his intestines.The delicate operation in Hải Hà district went without a hitch and the man was quickly stabilised following the ordeal.
He was kept in hospital under observation with only mild abdominal discomfort.When quizzed about how the eel could have ended up in his belly, the patient couldn't provide an answer.
But medics believe it entered his anus, slid up his colon and somehow entered his abdomen. Items can leak out of the intestines and into the bowel if patients suffer intestinal perforation.
What stunned the doctors most was that the eel was still alive when they removed it.Doctor Pham Manh Hung told local media: 'This is a rare case, the rectum is a site with abundant faecal matter and prone to infection.
'However, the surgery was performed safely.'