Man Has 15-Inch Eel Removed After Inserting It Into His Anus To 'Cure Constipation'

WARNING: As the headline suggests, this article contains some pretty grim images

A man had to have 15-inch long eel pulled from his gut after he inserted it, still alive, into his rectum in an attempt to 'cure his constipation'.

However, things didn't go according to the unnamed man's plan and the eel managed to tear a hole through his bowels, leaving him close to death.

The man, who is in his 50s, arrived at Dongguan Huangjiang Hospital in Guangdong in China after suffering with pains in his stomach.

He had severe sepsis, leading to septic shock, and was unable to communicate coherently, according to head of general surgery Li Jian.

AsiaWire

Doctor Li said: "He came in with septic shock. During a CT scan, we suspected a foreign body in his abdominal cavity, but we couldn't tell what it was.

"Then while performing a colonoscopy, we discovered it was an Asian swamp eel (monopterus albus). It had entered his abdominal cavity."

The patient was whisked off for emergency surgery to remove the eel. When doctors opened up his abdomen, they discovered it filled with waste matter including excrement and pus from his severe infection.

A shocking image taken by medics shows the 15-inch (40cm) long freshwater fish still intact - albeit very dead.

AsiaWire

"It was already dead," Doctor Li said. "But it caused severe bacterial contamination in his abdomen due to a build-up of faeces and pus." Lovely.

The waste matter had leaked into the man's body due to a rupture in his sigmoid colon. Now, I'm not a medical expert but I reckon that is probably very bad news.

Doctor Li added: "It was only after surgery, when we were enquiring after his medical history, that he told us he used the eel to cure his constipation.

"He inserted it up his anus into his rectum. I suspect it was then that the perforation in his sigmoid colon occurred.

AsiaWire

"Because he had inserted a live eel into himself, the chances of him dying were quite high, had he not had surgery in time."

The doctor said the 'constipation cure' was a 'folk remedy' and warned members of the public not to do it. You don't need to tell me twice, doc.

The patient, who has since been discharged from the hospital, is reported to have picked up the animal at a wet market.

Topics: World News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19