Doctors in south-western China turned an ordinary condom into a life-saving tool when they used it to remove a blade from a patient’s stomach.

The female patient – not named in local media in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province – reportedly came to People’s Hospital of Wenjiang District in a great amount of pain.

She was reportedly admitted to the hospital’s Endoscopy Centre as she would not stop clutching her stomach and groaning with a pained expression.

Dr Li Yahui soon learned that she had somehow swallowed a blade after a short inquiry with family members.

A CT scan confirmed the presence of a foreign body lodged in the patient’s stomach.

Doctors used a gastroscope and found a one-inch blade lying flat inside the patient’s stomach.

But they found themselves in a tough predicament when they realised it was impossible to pick up the sharp object with surgical forceps.

Worried that they might accidentally cut the mucous membrane during the removal process, surgeons decided to first bag the blade in a condom.

Doctors first proposed to put it inside a cutout piece of glove but found it was too soft and tricky to handle.

Dr Yahui then called over the department director and rushed him to a store to buy condoms.

They put the mouth of the condom up into the stomach and then managed to slip the blade in with the help of gravity.

From there on out, the operation ran smoothly to a successful end.

The ingenious move allowed them to carefully take out the sharp object while avoiding a more difficult and risky surgery.