In what might be the most cringe-worthy drinking story of all time, a 24-year-old man in Vietnam accidentally ended up with a chopstick lodged behind his eye after a night out went seriously wrong.
And the wildest part? It took doctors nearly a month to figure out what was causing his symptoms.
The Night Everything Went Sideways
We’ve all had those nights where we’ve made questionable decisions after a few drinks, but this takes things to a whole new level.
According to medical reports, our unfortunate protagonist “collided” with a friend while under the influence, which somehow resulted in a 9-centimeter (that’s about 3.5 inches!) chopstick getting lodged up his nose and behind his eye socket. Talk about a party foul!
The Medical Mystery
Here’s where things get even more bizarre.
When the man started experiencing swelling, he did what any reasonable person would do and went to his local medical center.
But in a plot twist that would make House M.D. proud, doctors couldn’t find anything wrong for THREE WHOLE WEEKS.
Let’s just take a moment to process that: This guy was walking around for nearly a month with a dining utensil stuck in his face.
Eventually, the persistent swelling and discomfort led him to seek treatment at a hospital, where a CT scan finally revealed the culinary culprit.
According to the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases, the patient had:
- Pain and swelling in his left eye area
- Pus coming from the corner of his eye (gross, but important)
- Surprisingly normal vision (10/10) and eye movement
The Great Extraction
Once doctors finally identified the chopstick, they rushed our protagonist into surgery.
Not only did they have to carefully remove the foreign object, but they also had to treat damage to the bottom of his eye and put him on antibiotics.
The medical team noted that since the chopstick had been used during a meal before its unexpected facial insertion, there was a serious risk of infection in his sinuses and eye socket.
Editor’s Note:
This article was sourced from a case report published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases. All medical details and patient information have been directly quoted from this source.