A 45-year-old Thai woman underwent emergency surgery after a 2cm fish bone that had been lodged in her throat for two weeks pierced through the skin of her neck.
The incident occurred in Phetchabun province and has since gone viral on social media across Thailand.
Fish Bone Gets Stuck During Meal, X-rays Fail to Detect Foreign Object
The woman’s husband, 43-year-old Suriyan Bubpha-art, shared details of the incident on Facebook on 17 Jun 2025. He revealed that his wife had been craving fish soup about two weeks before the incident.
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The couple prepared the soup using two types of fish — two-spot catfish and an eel-like fish. Suriyan suspected that fish bones were unknowingly mixed in with the roe when his wife scooped it from the eel’s stomach.
After taking one bite, a fish bone got stuck in her throat. She experienced a stabbing pain and tried several ways to dislodge the bone, including swallowing rice and using her finger to press the affected area inside her mouth.
These attempts failed and caused the bone to lodge deeper into her flesh, resulting in inflammation.
The woman visited the hospital where doctors performed X-rays but could not detect any foreign object in her throat. Medical staff assumed the bone had either been dislodged or dissolved naturally.
Two weeks later, the woman began exhibiting symptoms similar to thyroiditis. A second hospital visit resulted in another X-ray, which again failed to reveal the presence of the fish bone.
Doctors prescribed medication and sent her home.
Emergency Surgery Removes Protruding Fish Bone from Neck
The woman’s pain intensified, prompting her to purchase a pain relief patch for her neck. Before applying the patch, she massaged the sore area on her neck.
This action caused the 2cm fish bone to protrude visibly through her skin. The shocked couple immediately rushed to Bueng Sam Phan Hospital, where X-rays finally confirmed the presence of the foreign object.
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Doctors performed emergency surgery and successfully removed the fish bone. The attending physician told Suriyan that this was the first case of its kind he had encountered in his medical practice.
The woman was subsequently hospitalised and treated for throat inflammation. She told reporters via video call that she would never eat eel again for the rest of her life.
Images of the protruding fish bone received over 14,000 reactions and 1,100 shares on Facebook. Suriyan shared the experience on social media as a cautionary tale, warning others about the potential dangers of consuming fish with small bones.
“It’s something so simple, but it could have caused serious harm. We just want others to be more aware,” Suriyan said.
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