Doctors in Singapore were shocked to discover an octopus lodged in a man's esophagus during a gastrointestinal exam to find the cause of his vomiting. The Singaporean man realized something was wrong when he started vomiting after eating a meal that included raw octopus. When he also noticed he was having trouble swallowing, he panicked and quickly decided to visit the emergency department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
The doctors there performed a rapid CT scan, which revealed a dense mass in the man's esophagus, but they could not confirm what it was without an endoscopy. This procedure involves inserting a small flexible tube with a camera into the end, and it was through this that they discovered the man had a whole octopus stuck in his throat.
Initially, the doctors tried a "push technique," but it soon became clear that the octopus would not move downward, and excessive pressure could lead to a tear in the esophagus. Therefore, they had to use forceps to grab the marine creature and pull it out of the esophagus. It is unclear why the man swallowed the entire octopus, but fortunately, he recovered well and was discharged from the hospital two days later.
