Beijing, May 25 (IANS) A Chinese woman cut open her stomach with a kitchen knife to relieve fluid accumulation so that she didn't have to pay the surgery cost, a media report said.

China Daily reported that 53-year-old Wu Yuanbi, a migrant worker living in Chongqing municipal area, had not bought medical insurance as she wanted to save money.

After her plight came to light, she was taken to a hospital and is now being given treatment free of cost.

Wu is suffering for the past 13 years from Budd-Chiari syndrome, which is a condition in which her stomach fills with fluid.

In 2002, her family pooled its savings to pay for a surgery that led to a large amount of fluid being taken out.

When she suffered a relapse, her family was too poor to pick the 50,000 yuan ($7,680) tab for the second operation, the media report said.

As Wu was desperate to relieve the pressure in her stomach, she cut herself open with a kitchen knife May 8.

Her husband, Cao Yunhui, had left for work when she slit open her stomach and she had to endure intense pain for hours.

When Cao returned later in the day, he found Wu with a 10 cm-long wound in her stomach. She was lying in a fluid pool.

Wu was immediately taken to hospital.

"If I had passed away, I would have at least spared my family the trouble of looking after me," Wu was quoted as saying.