Firestarter of the Day: Patient's Fart Starts a Fire in Hospital
People hold in their farts where they're in mixed company. It's called being polite. But sometimes, when we're at our most vulnerable, supressing a fart can prove impossible, and the results can be dangerous.
This Tokyo woman found that out the hard way, when during surgery, she passed gas and caused a fire that left her seriously burned.
"The patient, in her 30s, was undergoing an operation which involved applying a laser to her cervix, the lower part of the uterus," reports The Straits Times. "The laser is believed to have been ignited by the gas she passed. The fire burnt much of her body, including her waist and legs"
After a thorough investigation, which found that no flammable materials in the operating room, the hospital determined that flatulence must be culprit. No word as to whether the patient denied it and, thus, supplied it.
"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," said the hospital report.
Let this serve as a warning for all of us. Sure, they make a funny noise, but farts can be deadly. Even the silent ones. Farts are gas. Please stop lighting your farts before someone gets hurt.