A six-inch COVID-19 home test reportedly got stuck in the throat of a 31-year-old woman in northeast England, requiring emergency surgery out of fears it could puncture her intestines.

Bobby Lee, of Durham, tried to swallow the test because she couldn’t remove it. “It was really scary ... It could have ended up fatal,” Lee told South West News Service.

Lee explained that the test got stuck because she gagged when the swab went down her throat. The swab was lodged between her mouth and the back of her throat.

“When I swabbed the back of my throat, I sort of gagged,” Lee said. The swab stuck out of her throat, making it hard for her to breathe, Lee told SWNS.

“It only went halfway down my throat, so you could see the end of it sticking out of my throat,” Lee said.

After receiving attention at an emergency room, the swab was taken out by using a tiny camera and surgical tools.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises that COVID tests only be swabbed through the nose due to safety concerns.