KUNSHAN, CHINA — Surgeons have removed two ballpoint pens from the stomach of a man in China — 36 years after he swallowed them.

The man, from China’s Jiangsu Province and identified only by his surname Wang, swallowed the pens while drinking with friends when he was 14 years old. Wang wanted to stop, but his friends said he could only stop if he swallowed pens, China’s Yangtze Evening Post reported.

The pens never caused any discomfort, and Wang thought he had already passed them. In fact, one of the pens had actually pierced the duodenum of Wang’s small intestine, resulting in inflammation. Doctors discovered the pens when Wang went to a local hospital for a checkup.

Wang has since been discharged from the hospital. His doctors warned that if you swallow something like a pen, get a doctor to take it out as soon as possible.