Category:
Surgery

An unusual rectal foreign body

An article recently published in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports describes the case of an unusual foreign body (a dumbbell) removed from a patient's rectum. It also provides a brief overview of the phenomenon of unusual foreign bodies that end up in rectums:

Retained rectal objects are a rare complaint in the emergency department, but an increasingly important occurrence in recent years. A Caribbean study conducted in hospitals over 5 years revealed an incidence of approximately 0.15 cases per 100,000 population/year, but exact frequency data is not known. Despite being a problem that affects both genders, in the literature consulted there is a predominance of males, at a ratio of 28:1 to females, more specifically white men between 20 and 40 years old, having practices of sexual gratification as the greatest motivation. A huge variety of rectal objects have been described, with a greater predominance of those of a sexual nature, followed by glass objects, which should be handled with greater care due to their fragility and risk of injury if broken.

Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 23, 2022 - Comments (1)
Category: Health, Surgery, Sex Toys

Skin whitening by intestine shortening

Back in the 1970s, some women in Japan reportedly tried to whiten their skin by having surgery to remove a section of their intestines:

surgeons have recently discovered a dramatic way to make Japanese females less yellow and thereby satisfy their obsession for the skin, as well as the features, of an Audrey Hepburn.

Up to 50 inches of the large intestine have to be removed according to Dr. Tadao Yagi, director of a private hospital that specializes in the operation.

I can't imagine why this would work. Perhaps the women grew paler because of malnutrition?

San Francisco Examiner - Mar 26, 1975



I believe these may be photos of the operation being performed, from an article by Tadao Yagi in the Japanese Journal of Medical Instrumentation.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 18, 2021 - Comments (3)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, Surgery, 1970s

Vasectomy World Record

As far as I can tell, the world record for the most voluntary vasectomies performed in a single day (and at a single event) was set on December 5, 1987 in Bangkok, when 1214 men received the operation. This beat the previous record of 1202, set in 1983.

Interesting how the article specifies these were voluntary vasectomies. Is there a separate record for involuntary ones?

Anyway, 'most vasectomies' appears to be a category that Guinness doesn't bother to cover.

Des Moines Register - Dec 6, 1987

Posted By: Alex - Mon Aug 19, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: World Records, Surgery

Signs of Health



Alas, this positive sign was not an accurate forecast of the fate of William Schroeder.

Article source.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 10, 2019 - Comments (2)
Category: Body, Death, Health, Surgery, 1980s, Alcohol

I Was a Teenage Brain Surgeon

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jun 03, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Humor, Music, Surgery, Teenagers, 1950s, Brain

World record for most severed hands reattached in one week

As far as I can tell, their claim to this record remains unchallenged.

Palm Beach Post - Nov 1, 1997

Posted By: Alex - Sun May 26, 2019 - Comments (1)
Category: World Records, Surgery, 1990s

Dr. John Bongiovanni, the blind surgeon

“During the procedures at the hospital, the blind doctor depended on nurses and other physicians to make decisions requiring eyesight.”

So, how many decisions during surgery don't require eyesight?

Philadelphia Daily News - Mar 2, 1984



Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Aug 26, 1984

Posted By: Alex - Sat Mar 16, 2019 - Comments (7)
Category: Surgery, 1980s, Eyes and Vision

Frozen Sections of a Child

Back in 1881, Dr. Thomas Dwight of Harvard Medical School authored Frozen Sections of a Child, which sounds like the kind of book one might find in the library of a serial killer. As the title indicated, the book consisted of anatomical illustrations of frozen cross-sections of a three-year-old child.

In the preface, Dwight helpfully included advice for those readers who might want to create their own frozen sections of a child:

My experience with frozen sections enables me to offer the following directions for making them. First, be very sure that the body, or part, to be frozen is in precisely the position you desire, and that there are no folds or indentations in the skin. I always use natural cold when possible. Weather much about zero (Fahrenheit) is unsatisfactory; but if the part is thoroughly chilled by several days' exposure to a pretty low temperature, a night of 10° may possibly finish it. Salt and ice, or snow, no doubt, will answer the purpose, but much time and patience are required. It is essential that the melted ice should have a chance to run off. The body should be frozen like a rock—so much so that the operator cannot tell whether he is cutting bone or muscle. Tooth is the only tissue he should be able to recognize. The sections should be made in a cold room, with a very sharp saw that has been chilled. When a section is cut, its surface is obscured by a thick half-frozen saw-dust, which is doubly thick if the freezing is not quite sufficient. It is wisest, if time allows, to remove this at once, which is done by pouring a little hot water over the section and brushing or scraping it off rapidly and carefully. This is a very delicate part of the process, and its successful performance has much to do with the beauty of the specimen. If it is to be kept, it should be laid on a piece of glass or wood, and placed at once, while still frozen, in cold alcohol.

More details: Harvard's Countway Library. You can also read the full book online via Google Books.

Posted By: Alex - Fri Feb 15, 2019 - Comments (0)
Category: Body, Surgery, Books, Nineteenth Century

Circumcision training school

The Brith Milah School, established at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital in 1968, was the world’s first-ever (and only?) school for circumcision training. It was a two-year program followed by a one-year internship. (Seems like a lot of training for a relatively simple operation. Though I guess it's important not to mess it up.)

The first class graduated in 1970, but by the 1980s the school evidently no longer existed. According to a 1989 story on JTA (Jewish Telegraphic Agency) it “ran into problems when it could not get malpractice insurance for trainees who were not physicians.”

Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle - Mar 22, 1968



Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle - Dec 25, 1970

Posted By: Alex - Wed Nov 21, 2018 - Comments (5)
Category: Body Modifications, Surgery, 1960s

Misunderstood Probability

I'm guessing the 50/50 chance didn't go in his favor.

Marion Star - Dec 28, 1995

Posted By: Alex - Fri Sep 01, 2017 - Comments (7)
Category: Surgery, 1990s

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Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

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