(Fotolia Photo)

A New Zealand man went to the emergency department last week to have an eel removed from his rectum.

The man, who has not been named, showed up at the Auckland City Hospital and had X-rays and a scan, which revealed the foreign body stuck inside of him, the New Zealand Herald reported.

"The eel was about the size of a decent sprig of asparagus and the incident is the talk of the place," a hospital source told the Herald. "Doctors and nurses have come across people with strange objects that have got stuck where they shouldn't be before, but an eel has to be a first."

The eel was successfully removed and the man was discharged from hospital, the Herald reported.

A hospital spokesman confirmed that "an adult male presented at Auckland City Hospital this week with an eel inside him," but did not comment further "out of respect for the patient's right to privacy."