15-year-old Joey Zeman recounted the incident through his parents -- who say the teen slipped and fell last Saturday while shoveling snow outside his family's home in WaKeeney, Kansas. Almost right away, he realized the pliers in his pouch seconds earlier were now inside him -- and the injuries are just as gory as you'd expect.

Joey's mom, Alicia Zeman, shared the graphic pics on Facebook ... and as you can see, the tool's handle is embedded just above his hip while the sheath hangs by the side.

The teen tells KWCH he tried pulling it out a few times ... but when he couldn't, he rang his mom and told her he was heading to the ER at his local hospital cause "the pliers were inside me."

At first, his mom thought he was joking ... thinking the pliers had merely poked him a little - though it was anything but a prank. But soon, she came to learn it was no laughing matter.

Nurse practitioner Sarah Gibbs explained that Joey had to be airlifted to Wichita's Wesley Medical Center ... in case he needed emergency surgery if his internal bleeding didn't stop when pulling out the tool.

Alicia adds that the pliers were firmly lodged into his bone ... the reason why Joey couldn't pull them out on his own. Joey's now on crutches after spending a night in the hospital ... and will make a full recovery as his internal organs were spared.

We're sure Joey will probably not carry pliers in frigid temperatures going forward ... but the ordeal will undoubtedly serve as the perfect icebreaker in future social settings, right?!?