Passing gas nearly turned fatal at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital in Shinjuku Ward.
According to Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun and the Straits Times, the incident occurred in April. A patient was undergoing an operation involving lasering her cervix. As the laser was performing its duty, the patient farted resulting in a fire that burned much of her body. Asahi Shimbun reports the women was badly burned below the waist.
So how does this all happen? Here are the horrifying details.
“When the patient’s intestinal gas leaked into the space of the operation (room), it ignited with the irradiation of the laser, and the burning spread, eventually reaching the surgical drape and causing the fire,” the report said.
Reports suggest equipment was working properly and the fire was just a freak accident caused by a series of unfortunate events. While farts are generally funny, untimely ones that end up severely burning a patient are not. The patient is lucky she’s still alive. I’m not sure if she has any legal recourse considering it was her fart that caused the fire, but the situation is incredibly unique, weird and sad.
[Straits Times] [Image]
