Doctors were astounded to find a woman with stomach pain and nausea had a condom inside her appendix.

The 26-year-old came to hospital complaining of pain and tenderness on the right side of her pelvis, leaving her unable to eat and suffering from a fever.

A scan revealed her abdomen was swollen with fluid so the medics, at a hospital in Cameroon, came to the conclusion she had appendicitis.

They rushed her for emergency surgery to remove the infected organ before it burst - but noticed it felt unusual as they cut it out.

They discovered the organ had a piece of condom stuck inside it - which they believe is the first case of its kind to be reported in the medical literature.

Doctors believed a woman with stomach pain, nausea and who couldn’t eat had appendicitis and performed surgery to remove the organ (pictured in red). They later found there was a condom stuck inside it (white)

‘We blindly dissected the appendix and found an incomplete piece of rubbery material which was consistent with a condom,’ said the doctors, describing the case in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.

When the patient woke up from the procedure, she confirmed she had accidentally swallowed a condom two weeks before.

While with her boyfriend the sheath had become loose - and accidentally slipped down her throat, she said.

She had not sought medical help after discovering pieces of the condom in her faeces five days later.

Nor did she think her symptoms were due to the incident.

Doctors believe the condom was torn into fragments as it travelled through her gastrointestinal tract, with part of it becoming lodged in her appendix,

The organ is a finger-like appendage located on the right side of the large intestine, so objects can some times get stuck there, triggering inflammation and infection.

This is the first case described in the medical literature where a condom has been found lodged in the appendix - causing inflammation and infection, doctors said (file picture)

Previously doctors have found bullets, fishing lines, screws, coins, stones, toothbrush bristle, pins, needles, teeth, bone fragments and dog hair in the appendix.

There are also reports of fruit seeds and pips, toothpicks, drill pieces, tongue studs, keys and contraceptive coils becoming stuck.

Once such objects are lodged in the organ, the pulsing of the bowel tract which moves food through the digestive tract is not enough to expel it back into the intestines.