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A man in Iowa was hospitalized after eating a banana wrapped in a condom, doctors who had been tasked with removing the fruit have revealed.
‘Otherwise healthy,’ according to the doctors, the unnamed man and his plight was cited in a renowned medical journal earlier this week, and serves as world’s first case of its kind.
After administering a CT scan, doctors discovered the blockage, and immediately rushed the patient into potentially life-saving surgery.
After the fact, doctors discerned that the unnamed 34-year-old – who waited more than a day to own up to the deed – swallowed the contraceptive-cradled fruit in a fit of ‘hormonal rage’. The man was eventually discharged and has since made a full recovery.
A man in Iowa was hospitalized after eating a banana wrapped in a condom in a ‘fit of hormonal rage,’ doctors wrote in a newly released case study that detailed the man’s lifesaving surgery
The patient underwent invasive surgery to remove the fruit, which doctors said ultimately proved successful. Pictured is the prophylactic-wrapped obstruction, shortly after its removal
In a move that likely sent waves though the field of medicine, medical journal Cureus published a case study detailing the case, writing how the first patient arrived to their Iowa hospital reporting symptoms off abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
Additionally, the study authors wrote, the patient had been ‘unable to tolerate any food or drink’ – and reportedly was bordering on more than 24 hours without a bowel movement.
Those symptoms, docs said, surfaced the day after the man – who was not identified – ingested the prophylactic-covered fruit, an act that he begrudgingly owned up to after undergoing X-rays that revealed the unusual obstruction.
Medical journal Cureus published a case study detailing the case, writing how the first patient arrived to their Iowa hospital reporting symptoms off abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Doctors only became aware of the obstruction after performing these CT scans
The bizarre case study – Titled Banana in a Condom: An Unusual Cause of Small Bowel Obstruction – included photos taken after the operation that show the extracted obstruction sitting on a surgeon’s table, as well as scans of the man’s X-rays
The patient promptly underwent invasive surgery to remove the fruit, which doctors said ultimately proved successful.
Titled Banana in a Condom: An Unusual Cause of Small Bowel Obstruction, the study went on to reveal that the patient had a ‘history of depression’ that contributed to his ill-advised decision.
Doctors added that the patient only admitted to consume the condom-wrapped obstruction more than 24 hours after arriving at the hospital – which was also not named.
After being confronted with CT scans showing the blockage, the authors said the presumably embarrassed patient copped up to swallowing the banana in a bout of ‘hormonal rage.’
The bizarre case study included photos taken after the operation that show the extracted obstruction sitting on a surgeon’s table, as well as scans of the man’s X-rays.
The post surgery photos show the still wrapped – and somewhat bruised – fruit next to a pair of surgical tongs, presumably moments after the surgery, which doctors wrote likely saved the patient’s life.
Three days after the surgery, doctors wrote, the man was discharged, and had reportedly recovered to the point to where he could once again eat and defecate.
Continuing to keep tabs on the patient in the weeks after his release, doctors wrote that ‘two weeks after the operation, he was tolerating a low-fiber diet without nausea or vomiting.’
Authors added that at this stage, the patient ‘had a return of normal bowel movements,’ adding that his pain was ‘well-controlled.’
After six months, doctors said the man continued to exhibit ‘normal bowel patterns and diet.’
‘He was able to slowly resume his active lifestyle and did not have major concerns,’ the authors concluded.
The case study saw the surgeons who had overseen the operation further remark on how the incident, to their knowledge, served as the first known instance of someone swallowing a banana in a condom, while noting that similar maladies are common among drug smugglers, who often consume – and eventually excrete – drug-stuffed condoms to circumvent security.
A banana, however, has not been among the many objects found in a patient’s bowels, doctors wrote.
