Vomiting after a hard drinking session proved to be a blessing in disguise for a man in China after doctors found out that a meatball-like mass he had thrown up and swallowed back in his drunken stupor was actually a long-ignored tumor.

According to Oriental Daily, the 63-year-old man from Hubei, China had been feeling discomfort in his throat for some time, especially when he swallowed solid food, but chose not to seek medical attention.

That’s until, after a recent binge-drinking session, he began throwing up and felt a sudden sharp pain in his throat followed by the sudden presence of a meatball-like mass in his mouth.

The man was so drunk that he thought he had vomited a part of his body out, and quickly swallowed the ‘meatball’ back with a glass of water.

Fortunately, the man decided to seek medical attention this time and went straight to a hospital in Wuhan. After hearing his story and conducting an endoscopic exam, doctors discovered that the “meatball” was in fact a tumor growing at the top of the man’s oesophagus.

Further examination revealed that the tumour had grown all the way to the man’s throat and risked blocking the airway. The man underwent a surgery to remove the 15cm-long and 4 cm- thick tumour which was later identified as a fibroma.

The man had described the mass he threw up and swallowed back as a “long forked tongue.”

Fibromas can grow on any organ and are generally benign, but depending on their location they can still cause health problems. In this particular case, excessive growth could have made it difficult to swallow for the patient.

Medical experts quoted by the Oriental Daily said fibroids are generally benign tumours but excessive growth can obstruct eating and turn malignant.