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Patient’s fart during surgery sets laser beam on fire, causing serious burns

We can't make this stuff up.

 

Austin Powell

IRL

Posted on Nov 1, 2016   Updated on May 25, 2021, 4:30 pm CDT

There comes a time in every boy’s life where he, or one of his friends, tries to light a fart on fire. A quick YouTube search turns up more than 61,300 results and just about every variation you can think of—except one. 

Japanese newspaper the Asahi Shimbun reports that a woman’s fart during surgery accidentally ignited a laser, causing significant burns to her body. 

The exact operation that the patient, who was in her 30s, was receiving is unclear, but it reportedly involved using a laser on her cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus. An outside report found that there were no other flammable materials in the operating room and that the operation equipment was functioning normally, leading experts to believe it was the patient’s flatulence that caused the accident. 

The incident occurred at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital in the Shinjuku Ward on April 15, but the incident report was only released on Oct. 28. The investigators used a dummy to try to recreate the accident, as seen below.

“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.

According to ABC, the report also recommended additional training for the staff for putting out fires and taking steps to prevent future flatulence from interfering with laser beams. 

H/T ABC

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*First Published: Nov 1, 2016, 11:45 am CDT