Old man narrowly escapes death from putting squash into anus

In a strange but true story, doctors in southern Can Tho City have saved an 81-year-old man from death after he put a squash into his anus in an attempt to get rid of his constipation.

The old man, of the city’s Cai Rang District, was recently hospitalized at the General Hospital No. 10 with writhing pains in the abdomen and the anus area, Dr Mai Quang Hiep, the hospital’s vice director, said on Tuesday.

After examination, doctors discovered the man’s intestine tract was stuck due to a squash – 8 cm wide and 20 cm long –  that the old man had put deep into his anus.

The man took the action with hope that it would help him get out of a prolonged constipation he had been suffering.

A surgical team led by Dr Hiep performed a surgery to remove the squash and the old man has been discharged after recovery.

His relatives said that he had recently suffered constipation and in each time he had the condition, he put a squash into the anus and then pulled it out as a way to facilitate defecation. After such an action, he could relieve himself easier.

However, on the day of incident, he had put a squash too deep into the anus and he failed to remove it later, his family said.