A 2cm toothpick is removed from a female patient's anus at Đà Nẵng-Hoàn Mỹ Hospital. The patient used the toothpick after dining and swallowed it during the night. — Photo courtesy Hoàn Mỹ Hospital

ĐÀ NẴNG — Doctors from Hoàn Mỹ-Đà Nẵng Hospital have successful removed a toothpick from a patient’s anus after she swallowed while sleeping.

Dr. Lý Như Thanh from the hospital said the patient, named T., 48, from Quảng Nam Province, was taken to the hospital on Wednesday with severe pain and bleeding from her anus.

An endoscopy showed a 2cm object was struck in the patient's rectum, causing bleeding, he said.

Doctors were able to remove the toothpick from the patient’s anus, and she has been recovering well following the procedure.

The patient said she used a toothpick after dinner at home on Wednesday, but kept it in her mouth during the night.

Doctors said the patient had swallowed the toothpick while she was sleeping.

They suggested that dental floss could be used instead of a toothpick to avoid damage to gums, as well as related injuries and accidental swallowing. — VNS