Doctors were stunned to find a half-eaten octopus in a patient’s oesophagus.
The 55-year-old man was taken to hospital after eating a meal that included the eight-limbed sea creature.
The unnamed patient told docs that he started vomiting immediately after eating the meal.
He was admitted to hospital with swallowing difficulties.
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The oesophagus – aka gullet – is a muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
Health experts at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore carried out a computed tomography scan on the patient.
The scan revealed a hyperdense mass in the man’s oesophagus.
An oesophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed on the patient, showing the octopus complete with its suckers lodged 5cm from the gastroesophageal junction.
The medical team’s initial attempts at pushing or extracting the mass were unsuccessful.
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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.
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The medical team said food blockages are one of the most common problems they encounter in their work at the hospital.
They said food bolus issues will pass spontaneously in 80 to 90% of cases.
Endoscopic management will be needed in between 10 and 20% of cases while less than 1% 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.”
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