A man in China who had a 12cm-long metal chopstick lodged in his throat for eight years recently had surgery to remove the object.
The man, surnamed Wang, underwent the surgery at Dalian Municipal Central Hospital in northeastern Liaoning province in early March.
His experience has shocked internet users, the Daxiang News reported.
Eight years ago, Wang swallowed the chopstick by accident while eating and drinking alcohol.
At the time he felt pain but did not have any breathing problems.
When Wang went for a hospital check-up, doctors suggested cutting the side of his neck to take out the chopstick. But he declined this option and decided to leave the object where it was.
Wang, an alcoholic, said in the following eight years he occasionally felt the eating implement but decided to endure it.
He attributed the discomfort to a “normal reaction” from drinking alcohol.
But weeks ago, Wang felt a pain every time he got up in the morning. The pain was more acute when he swallowed things and the situation was relieved after some rest.
This prompted him to visit the Dalian hospital.
“He told us a chopstick was trapped in his throat. I thought it happened just now, but he said this was eight years ago,” Huang Weipeng, a doctor at the hospital, was quoted as saying.
An examination found a metal chopstick in the soft palate of Wang’s throat.
Fortunately, the nearby mucous membrane was not injured and the related organs did not shift their positions. His vocal cords functioned normally, said doctors.
Doctors panned a minimally invasive operation to remove the object via his mouth because Wang objected to them cutting his neck.
Finally, a 12cm-long metal chopstick was retrieved. The surgery went smoothly, with a small amount of bleeding during the operation.
Wang recovered well and was discharged from the hospital days later.
The man’s story became an online sensation.
“12cm long. My God, it is so long. How did he endure it for such a long time?” said one internet user.
“I felt pain when simply reading this story,” said another person.
A third asked: “I wonder how he managed to swallow it?”
News stories about people who swallow strange objects often captivate social media in China.
Last year, a 64-year-old man in central Anhui province had an operation to retrieve a toothbrush that had been in his stomach for 52 years.
He said he swallowed it by accident and chose to conceal the secret from his parents for fear of their criticism. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
