Woman swallowed a six inch metal spoon because she 'ate her noodles too quickly'
- Woman went to doctors in Yangzhou, China, to remove lodged spoon
- Patient, Ms Wang, claims she swallowed it by accident while eating
- Six inch spoon was successfully removed after two hour surgery
Surgeons at a Chinese hospital successfully removed a six inch metal spoon from the stomach of a woman.
The spoon had already been lodged for three hours by the time the patient, surnamed Wang, arrived at a hospital in Yangzhou, eastern China, reported People's Daily Online.
Ms Wang, claimed she had swallowed the utensil while gulping down a bowl of noodles at home.
Surgeons at a hospital successfully removed a six inch metal spoon (above) from the stomach of a woman
According to Yin Jian, the doctor who treated her, the 27-year-old woman arrived at Yangzhou's Subei Hospital in the afternoon of August 30.
She complained that she had a stainless steel spoon lodged inside her stomach and wanted help removing it.
Doctors didn't believe the woman at first.
Dr Yin said: 'We asked her how it got there and she said she swallowed it while eating.'
Ms Wang said she was eating noodles at home when she accidentally ingested the utensil as well.
This explanation perplexed the doctors.
Medical scan showed a six inches long stainless steel spoon was lodging inside Ms Wang's stomach (pictured)
Dr Yin explained: 'First of all, we don't generally use spoons to eat noodles. Then there's the fact that this spoon is quite big, it would be quite difficult to swallow it.
'There's probably other reasons why the spoon is there but she didn't want to explain so we didn't press.'
After examination, the woman's condition is more serious than the doctors initially thought.
As the hospital's X-ray scans showed, the spoon was about six inches long.
It was lodged in the stomach at about 30 degrees but it could slip and go into her intestines at any time.
If that happens, the spoon could also perforate her stomach lining and cause internal injuries.
In severe cases, it could even lead to death.
Doctors decided that the safest way to extract the spoon was to remove it the way it went in - from her month.
Doctors decided that the safest way to extract the lodged spoon was to remove it from her month (file photo)
Ms Wang was put under general anaesthetic while the doctors tried to pull out the spoon with endoscopy equipment.
The task was harder than anticipated since the rounded edges made the spoon particularly difficult to hold on to.
Add to that is the fact that her stomach was filled with partially digested food, which made locating the spoon more difficult.
In all, doctors spent two hours trying to extract the spoon when they finally managed to wrap a wire around its handle.
Progress had to be slow in order to minimise damage to Ms Wang's oesophagus.
Ms Wang has now been released from the hospital follow the successful surgery.
The unusual accident suffered by Ms Wang is not unique.
In June this year, a student swallowed an ice cream spoon measuring just over five inches when someone knocked into her.
Earlier in May this year, another woman had the handle of a cooking spatula stuck down her throat after she tried to remove something she thought was growing down her oesophagus.
The implements in both cases were successfully removed.
Most watched News videos
- Vehicles wade through flooded road of Brent Cross after a downpour
- Man uses brush to unclog the drain after flash floods hit London
- Awkward moment A-level student opens up two Ds after expecting Bs
- Mick Lynch: We will keep going with strikes until we secure a deal
- Medical emergency team rush to assist a stabbed pensioner in London
- Cops arrest man accused of stabbing to death 87-year-old busker
- A-level student breaks down in tears after picking up three A*s
- A Russian soldier confesses to his gruesome crimes in Ukraine
- Sajid Javid gives his opinion about Liz Truss' leaked audio
- Crown Prince of Dubai and Cristiano spend time together in Dubai
- Russia shows off stolen Ukrainian weapons at arms sales convention
- Thomas O'Halloran plays accordian and chats to locals in Greenford