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Sounding, the practice of inserting objects into the penis for sexual pleasure, is a surprisingly common kink.

Sex toy specialists Lovehoney stock over a dozen items designed specifically for the purpose.

But one unfortunate sex adventurer don’t have anything like that to hand, and decided that a thermometer might do the trick.

A glass thermometer.

The man, a 25-year-old from Shanghai, lost his grip on the thermometer while he was having his fun, whereupon it slipped completely inside him and made its way up into his bladder.

Hoping that sooner or later nature would take its course and the thermometer would pop out when he urinated he waited 11 days before seeking medical help.

Writing in medical journal Urology Case Reports, Dr GanggangYang and colleagues from Tongren Hospital described how they dealt with the unusual stowaway in much the same way as they might treat a kidney stone.

A cystoscope, a long thin tube with a micro camera on the end was also slipped into the unfortunate bloke’s urethra and doctors used it to asses exactly where the thermometer was.



Using a tiny pair of forceps the medics moved the thermometer around to allow for the most ‘streamlined’ exit.

“Gentle action was taken out to prevent the thermometer from fracturing and to prevent bladder wall layer injury,” the doctors wrote.

Extra care had to be taken because ether thermometers contain mercury, which is highly toxic and can cause serious damage to the kidneys and nervous system.

The whole procedure took about 15 minutes. The patient was discharged the following day and a follow-up appointment a month after the removal found that the patient had made complete recovery.

(Image: Getty)

While the thermometer might seem to be a strange choice for a “sounding” implement, the description of the case in Urology Case reports notes that the issue is surprisingly common and that a wide variety of objects trapped in the bladder have been reported "including daily objects and even living things".

(Image: Getty)

They single out “sticks of broom, bomb shrapnel, screws, fish, thermometers, even snakes”.

As always, when it comes to reports of this type, Daily Star Online urges readers not to try this at home.