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CT scan shows hundreds of tapioca balls from bubble tea stuck inside 14-year-old girl's stomach

She was unable to eat - by Riah Matthews
  • 12 Jun 2019

A 14-year-old girl in China was left stunned after doctors discovered she had hundreds of tapioca pearls from bubble tea stuck in her stomach. 

CT scan shows hundreds of tapioca balls from bubble tea stuck inside 14-year-old girl's stomach
Getty and Shaoxing News

They were discovered after the girl complained of stomach pains, constipation and said she was unable to eat. After five days of stomach troubles, her concerned parents took her to the hospital where an CT scan was ordered.

The CT scan showed hundreds of tapioca balls, or pearls, were stuck in her digestive system, including her stomach, and large and small intestines.

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A CT scan of the tapioca balls in the girl's stomach.

Shaoxing News

The girl, who was treated by Doctor Zhang Louzhen, admitted she'd had bubble tea five days before she came to hospital. 

Bubble tea is a drink of tea containing grains of tapioca blended flavoured milk and sugar or sweetener. It was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s but is now popular across a lot of Asia and is also widely sold in Australia. 

The girl's doctor believes she must have been drinking a lot more of the tapioca tea than she admitted to as there were so many balls present in her system. He says she may have been worried about being scolded by her parents.

After the surprising find, the girl was given laxatives to clear the blockage. 

Riah Matthews
Riah Matthews
Riah Matthews is the Deputy Editor for that’s life! She started her journalism career in the UK at the Nottingham Post before moving to Australia and working on that's life! and the podcast How I Survived. Her work has also been published in the Daily Mail, Chat, Woman, Pick Me Up, Take a Break, Real People and on Newidea.com.au

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