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Beijing: In a bizarre medical case, a man in China suffered a rectal prolapse after playing on his mobile phone for half an hour while on the toilet, according to news reports. Rectal prolapse is a condition in which the rectum - the last part of the large intestine before it exits the anus) - loses its normal attachments inside the body and slips outside the anus.

Apparently, the man went to the hospital after he noticed a lump had fallen out of his anus but was still attached to his body, reported the Daily Mail. But, surgeons successfully removed ‘ball-sized’ lump, measuring a diameter of 16 centimetres (6.3 inches), from the man on the same day, and he is now recovering.

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According to the Daily Mail, the man told his doctors that he had been playing mobile games while trying to have a bowel movement for more than half an hour. His doctors said that he had experienced rectal prolapse in the past (since he was 4 years old), but on previous occasions, the rectum had retracted to its normal position.

“Most rectal prolapses are able to be retracted, however, this was not the case for the man. If such a condition is not treated in time, the situation could become even worse,” Dr Su Dan, one of the doctors at the hospital, was quoted as saying to Kan Kan News.

“The man has suffered rectal prolapses from when he was a boy. But he did not take note of it over a long period of time and did not want to cultivate good toilet habits. He also had the modern-day habit of sitting on the toilet for a long time while playing with his phone,” wrote the hospital in Southeast China.

According to the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS), rectal prolapse affects about 2 out of every 100,000 people, and up to two-thirds of patients with the condition have chronic constipation. The condition typically occurs in older women, but it can occur in men and women of any age.

Doctors aren’t clear what causes the condition, but certain factors can increase the chance of developing the condition. In adults, risk factors can include - straining during bowel movements because of constipation, tissue damage caused by surgery or childbirth, weakness of pelvic floor muscles that occurs naturally with age. Risk factors for children include – infections, malnutrition, straining during bowel movements, etc.

Health experts recommended that people who suffer from constipation should eat more fruit and vegetables while avoiding straining too hard to defecate. They should seek medical help early for illnesses that exert pressure on the abdomen.