Patient left with serious burns after farting during operation and igniting surgeon’s laser
Shocked woman was undergoing a procedure at Tokyo Medical University
A PATIENT in a Tokyo hospital has been left with serious burns after she farted during an operation that ignited the surgeon's laser.
The woman was undergoing surgery at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital which involved a laser being applied to her cervix and lower part of her uterus.
A report into the incident ruled a leak of the woman's intestinal gas was responsible for the incident.
Combined with the surgical laser it sparked a fire which seriously burnt her legs and waist, .
The incident occurred on 15 April of this year at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital in Shinjuku Ward but a committee has only just concluded its investigation.
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It found there were no flammable materials in the operating theatre and all equipment was functioning normally at the time.
The report concluded: “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 woman, who is in her 30s, survived but her exact condition is not known.
Why is human wind flammable?
Contrary to popular belief, it’s probably not methane leaking from behind that lights on fire (known as pyroflatulence) it’s most likely hydrogen.
Human farts are comprised primarily of hydrogen, nitrogen, some carbon dioxide and potentially a small amount of methane and oxygen.
These farts are primarily made in two ways – from swallowing air and digesting food.
Swallowed air delivers nitrogen and oxygen to the digestive tract, where the latter is mostly, if not fully, absorbed.
The nitrogen, on the other hand, passes through unimpeded, hence making up a large component of a typical gaseous rear expulsion.
Nitrogen, however, is not flammable, which is good as it makes up about 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere.
The remaining gases in farts, which also may include a small, yet extremely potent, amount of hydrogen sulphide are generally byproducts of the fermentation and other action that occurs when microbes in the gut feast on fibre and the like in the diet of the host.
These microbes include certain bacteria as well as a primitive form of life, previously thought to be bacteria, called archaea.
The hydrogen, hydrogen sulphide and methane produced by these microbes can all be set alight, and such a typical fart will usually burn yellow or orange, with the flammable part mostly being hydrogen in this case.
If, however, the lit fart has a blue flame, this is generally attributed to the expulsion having an unusually high methane content.
Source: www.todayifoundout.com