Doctors Discover An Entire Octopus In Man’s Throat During Surgery

An entire octopus was found by doctors in a man’s throat in Singapore after he was hospitalized.

The man went to the hospital after he began vomiting when he ate a meal that contained the octopus in it. He had trouble swallowing and experienced discomfort in his throat. 

Doctors decided to give him a CT scan in order to determine the cause. When looking at the scans, they discovered a dense mass in his esophagus.

The next step in treatment was to conduct an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, where an endoscope is used to take images with a small tube. The images showed an eight-legged octopus lodged into the man’s stomach about two inches away from his esophagus. 

In order to extract the mollusk, doctors attempted to pull it out but were unsuccessful. They decided to attempt a second technique by using the endoscope in order to push around the octopus and then retroflex it. They then grabbed the animal by its head with forceps and successfully pulled it out. 

After the surgery, the patient recovered in the hospital for two days and then was released. 

Food obstructions are one of the most common problems doctors solve and in most cases do not require much medical intervention as they typically pass spontaneously. Only in about 10% to 20% of cases, an endoscopic technique is required and 1% of patients need surgery. 

This is not the first time doctors have encountered an issue with an octopus. Back in 2016, a young boy required hospitalization when an octopus got stuck in his throat after a sushi session went wrong. 

Live octopus, known as sannakji, is considered a delicacy in South Korea, but the dish comes with dangers as about six people die every year from it. This occurs when the suckers of the octopus adhere to the victim’s throat and causes them to asphyxiate.