Woman has catfish removed from stomach

sheatfish lies on the bottom of the aquarium a good pet

A tourist swimming at a Sao Paulo beach resort ended up needing surgery ... to have a catfish removed. The fish embedded itself in the woman's abdomen while she was in the waters off Itanhaem; the Independent reports that a catfish's barbed spines will "sting and lock in place" when the fish is threatened, making it hard to remove the spines without further injuring the unfortunate person in whom they are embedded.

"I've never seen a catfish stuck to someone's stomach. It was definitely a first," says a local ambulance worker who wrote about the incident (and posted disturbing photos) on Facebook.

"She was in a lot of pain. We didn't remove the spine because only a doctor can do this," so she was taken to a nearby hospital for "microsurgery." Inquisitr, citing local media, reports that rough seas caused the catfish to collide with the woman, and it employed its defense mechanism as a result.

(This man had a toy wedged in his nose for 44 years.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: Woman Forced to Undergo Catfishectomy

More From Newser

• Don't Buy Into the Big Breastfeeding Con
• Girl With 3 Legs to Have 2 Removed
• Girl With Almost No Brain Is Still Alive at 10