A woman was left in a panic after she swallowed a 17cm spoon when her dog jumped on her as she was eating yoghurt.

Reymy Amelinckx from Rumst, a town in northern Belgium, said she had to choose between “choking or swallowing” the utensil, according to Metro.

The 28-year-old was snacking on her couch when Marley, her vivacious Hungarian Vizsla, jumped on her unexpectedly.

“I put the spoon in my mouth so I had my hands free to reply to a message,” Amelinckx said.

The shock startled her so much her head jerked back, causing the spoon to lodge in her throat.

Panicked, Amelinckx attempted to force the spoon out by hand “but everything happened so fast, it was either swallow or choke”, she said.

Belgian woman Reymy Amelinckx had to have a spoon surgically removed from her stomach. Photo / @reymyamelinckx

Amelinckx, who works as a medical representative, said the situation left her so embarrassed, she “didn’t say anything right away” when her boyfriend came home from work.

“It wasn’t until after dinner that I realised it was actually quite serious.

“There was a 17cm spoon in my stomach.

“Online, everywhere said the same thing – go straight to the emergency room.

“It was only then that I realised how dangerous it could be.”

Doctors advised her the spoon was too big to pass naturally, and that she would have to wait at home until an appointment could be scheduled for a gastroscopy, Metro reported.

Amelinckx described feeling “truly terrified” trying to sleep that night as she felt the spoon moving between her ribs.

“I felt bloated and nauseous, and I couldn’t eat without feeling strange.

“Sleeping was difficult because every position reminded me of the spoon in my stomach.”

Amelinckx said she was terrified as she felt the spoon move between her ribs. Photo / @reymyamelinckx

Two days later, Amelinckx underwent minor surgery.

“I wasn’t allowed to swallow while they pulled it up,” she said.

“They had to rotate it in my stomach, which caused a small gastric haemorrhage.

“It wasn’t pleasant, but I felt pure relief when it came out,” she said, adding that she was pleased doctors weren’t required to “surgically cut open my stomach”.

The episode left Amelinkx with a sensitive stomach, some oesophagus damage and “a few minor gastric bleeding episodes” but nothing permanent.

After the ordeal, she decided to keep the spoon as a memento.

“My boyfriend wants to turn it into a work of art,” she said.

“He doesn’t know exactly what yet, but it will definitely be a unique piece.

“That’s the least such an adventure deserves.”