Doctors were stunned to find almost an entire octopus lodged down a patient’s throat after he complained of having difficulty swallowing.
The 55-year-old man was admitted to hospital after eating a meal that included the eight-limbed sea creature.
The unnamed patient told medics that he had started vomiting immediately after he ate the seafood dish.
Health experts at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore carried out a scan on the patient’s oesophagus – the muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
The bizarre images it captured showed the octopus, complete with its suckers, stuck 5cm from the gastroesophageal junction, where the oesophagus and stomach meet.
The team were left with no choice but to carry out the computed tomography scan, known as an oesophagogastroduodenoscopy, on the patient.
Their initial attempts at pushing or extracting the unusual mass were unsuccessful.
Eventually, the endoscope was carefully manoeuvred past the mass into the stomach and retroflexed.
Doctors then used forceps to grasp the head of the octopus to extract it.
The patient recovered quickly from the procedure and was discharged two days later.
The medical team, who shared the story in 2018, said at the time that food blockages are one of the most common problems they encounter in their work at the hospital.
They said the food bolus issues will pass spontaneously in 80 to 90 per cent of cases.
Endoscopic management will be needed in between 10 and 20 per cent of cases while less than 1 per cent requires surgery.
The medical team added: ‘The “push technique” is the primary method recommended with high success rates, however applying excessive force can cause oesophageal perforation.’
