Doctors in Vietnam removed a live eel from a man's bottom.
Doctors had to extract a live eel from a man's bottom
Horrified medics discovered the 26-inch-long sea creature last month after it had attempted to chew its way out by biting the wall of the patient's large intestine.
However, their initial attempts to extract the eel were thwarted as the man - only identified as a 31-year-old Indian national - had also stuffed a lemon up his backside.
This meant that the surgeons had to cut through his abdomen to remove the fish and were also required to manipulate the fruit down through the man's anus.
The doctors said he would have died without the procedure and he will now have to live with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life.
Dr. Le Nhat Huy, Deputy Director of the Center for Colon and Rectal Surgery at Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi, told local media: "Eels are animals that can survive in anaerobic conditions for a long time and can puncture the digestive tract.
"People should absolutely not insert animals through their anus to create a strong sensation, as the consequences can be severe."