As with most surgery-related fart stories, this one is kind of tragic: A hospital in Tokyo says a patient farted during laser surgery earlier this year, triggering a fire that resulted in serious burns to the patient’s body.
The Asahi Shimbun reports the fire took place in April, when a woman in her 30s was undergoing a procedure that involved a laser being used on her cervix. At some point, the woman passed gas, which hit the laser and ignited a blaze that burned her waist, legs, and other parts of her body.
“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, noting that all equipment was operating normally and that no flammable materials were in the surgery room at the time.
Now we can add fire-inducing farts to long list of things to worry about during surgery.
