The good news was that he did not have cancer.
The bad news: The growth that had been causing him pain was in fact a 25-year-old surgical towel.
The patient had been carrying the cloth since 1983, when surgeons left it in him after a minor operation to treat an ulcer, a spokesman for the hospital said.
The man, now 49, went to another hospital in late May after suffering abdominal pain.
When examinations found what was believed to be an eight-centimeter tumour, he underwent the operation to remove it. It was only then that surgeons realized it was a towel.
"The towel was greenish blue although we are not sure about its original colour", the Ashai General Hospital spokesman said, adding it had been crumbled to the size of a softball.
Asahi hospital officials visited the man and apologized, he said,
The former patient had no plans to sue the hospital, which is in talks with him over compensation or other measures, the official said.
Japanese media reports said the man, who was not identified, still had his spleen removed.
NEWS.com.au
Jeez, can you imagine thinking you may have cancer, and it winds up to be a towel....
