A MAN who swallowed a metal chopstick on a drunken night out refused to have the utensil pulled out of his throat for eight years.
After nearly a decade of pain, the man finally allowed a surgeon to look at the five inch long pain in his neck last month.
The chopstick was firmly lodged into the man’s throat for eight years Credit: CTS News/Youtube
A surgeon finally pulled out the five inch long metal rod from the man’s mouth last month Credit: CTS News/Youtube
The patient – only identified as Mr Wang – went in for a check-up shortly after swallowing the five-inch stick in 2018, however rejected having it removed at first.
In a case study published by the hospital in March, the 46-year-old “alcoholic” patient did not want the doctors to cut open his neck.
At the time he told doctors he had felt the pain but did not have any breathing problems.
He continued to live in discomfort with the foreign object stuck in his throat for the following eight years, the South China Morning Post reported.
Mr Wang said had occasionally felt the eating implement but decided to endure it.
He attributed the discomfort to a “normal reaction” from drinking alcohol, according to the South China Morning Post.
After suffering from increasing pain making it more difficult for him to swallow, Mr Wang asked doctors at the Dalian Municipal Central Hospital in Liaoning Province to intervene.
Surgeons performed a minimally invasive procedure, finally extracting the chopstick from Mr Wang’s throat.
Doctors avoided slicing opening his neck, according to the hospital’s report.
“He told us a chopstick was trapped in his throat,” said Dr. Huang Weipeng.
“I thought it happened just now, but he said this was eight years ago.”
The man’s vocal cords and nearby mucous membrane were not injured by the chopstick.
After the surgery, his throat has made a complete recovery and he has returned to functioning normally.
Mr Wang was discharged from the hospital just days after the operation.
He is expected to make a full recovery from the jaw-dropping event.
His story has shocked social media users.
One person commented: “My God, it is so long. How did he endure it for such a long time?”
“I felt pain when simply reading this story,” another person said.
A third pondered: “I wonder how he managed to swallow it?”
It comes after a 64-year-old man in central Anhui province last year had an operation to remove a toothbrush that had been lodged in his stomach for 52 years.
He said he had swallowed the cleaning device by accident and chosen to keep it a secret from his parents.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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