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A Chinese woman who couldn't open her mouth to eat had a five-inch bamboo stick speared through her head for eight months without realising it.

The shock discovery was made by doctors after 61-year-old Fu Jinfeng was taken to hospital by her family.

Medics at the Xiang Ya Hospital in Changsha, Hunan Province, were amazed when they scanned the woman to reveal the huge object.

The incredible find came after her family grew concerned when she couldn't open her mouth to eat and an eight-month-old wound hadn't healed.

(Image: Rex Features)

It is not known how the stick became embedded in the woman's face back in April this year.

Doctors were able to remove it to allow the wound to mend.

Bamboo is a popular material in China, used extensively in almost every household for beds, chopsticks, chairs and even hats. It is also used as a building material, while bamboo shoots are eaten or used in medicine.