Man undergoes emergency surgery after eating ghost chili pepper

An American man had some bad luck after participating in an eating competition with one very dangerous component: ghost chili peppers, or bhut jolokia.

The man began to vomit rather violently after eating a hamburger with ghost chili pepper puree. He suffered from severe abdominal pain, leading to his admittance at a local hospital. Doctors found a hole in his esophagus that was 2.5-centimeters, which necessitated emergency surgery and 23 days in the hospital.

Though doctors initially thought that the man was reacting to a gluttonous meal, the hole in the man’s esophagus allowed them to conclude that it was another source. People who suffering from a such a rupturing of the esophagus, known as Boerhaave syndrome, are in danger of death or other complications.