Surgeons have removed large amounts of polyurethane insulation foam from the stomach of a teenager who complained about abdominal pain.

Medics at the Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital in the city of Orenburg, Orenburg Oblast, southwestern Russia, said they had checked the 13-year-old male patient due to stomach ache after attending the institution.

In its statement from 10th November entitled “A dangerous find” obtained by Newsflash, the clinic said: “During an endoscopic examination, a foreign body was discovered in the patient’s stomach, occupying almost the entire stomach.”

The medical team quickly determined that the material was polyurethane foam, a plastic material commonly used to insulate refrigerators and buildings.

The clinic explains: “Due to the impossibility of endoscopic removal of this foreign body, the patient was indicated for surgical removal of the foreign body during gastrotomy surgery.”

The operation on the teen, who has not been named, went according to plan. The patient’s condition is improving, according to the Orenburg Region’s Ministry of Health.

An image published by local health officials obtained by Newsflash shows huge chunks of freshly removed polyurethane foam.

It remains unclear how the substance ended up in the teenager’s stomach.

Social media users have been delighted by news of the successful intervention.

Netizen ‘Irina Rumyantseva’ said: “The doctors and nurses at this clinic are simply superb. God bless them, well done!”

And another user, ‘Katenka Lopatnikova’, just said: “The best!”