A villager dries peeled persimmons in Fuping county, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Nov. 3, 2020. Local villagers lately have been busy harvesting and processing persimmons to dried snacks. With a planting area of more than 360,000 mu (24,000 hectares), the persimmon industry has boost local people's income and help 2,400 registered impoverished households to shake off poverty.Photo:Xinhua

A 5-year-old boy recently had a huge chunk of "rock" removed from his stomach at a local hospital in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian Province, after eating four persimmons half a month earlier. 

The boy, surnamed Wen, ate four persimmons in a row two weeks ago and then suffered from repeated stomachaches. 

When he was later examined at a local hospital, doctors found a "stone," 7 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide, inside his belly during an ultrasound examination, weighing at least 250 grams. 

It turned out that the persimmons he had eaten turned into a ball almost as hard as wood. According to the doctor who treated him, it was formed from the acids in the fruit, which later combined with proteins and fiber in his stomach. 

The doctors finally broke the "stone" into small pieces and extracted them after operating for nine hours. The boy has now fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital.

Experts warn that persimmons should not be eaten in excess or on an empty stomach. Unripe persimmons should also be avoided to prevent such incidents from happening.

Global Times