You might have heard legends about lighting farts on fire. It doesn't seem like it could be real, but then you're not going to put a lighted match near your bum to find out.
Well, now you don't have to. It turns out that passed gas really can start fires — and explosions.
A team of surgeons, and their unfortunate patient, learned this the hard way when an errant toot caused an explosion and fire at Tokyo University Medical Hospital back in April.
The patient was a woman undergoing surgery on her cervix and during the procedure, she farted — which is a perfectly natural bodily function that everybody (and we mean everybody) does, and is actually very good for you.
Of course, it's less good for you in proximity to a surgical laser.
"When the patient's intestinal gas leaked into the space of the operation, it ignited with the irradiation of the laser," the official report states. "The burning spread, eventually reaching the surgical drape and causing the fire."
The patient suffered burns to much of her lower body, but is expected to make a full recovery — although we imagine it was a rather awkward conversation when she woke up.
[H/T: Daily News, Asahi Shimbun]
Surgeons at Tokyo Medical University Hospital were understandably shocked when an explosion and fire suddenly broke out during a surgery — right near the patient.
The team had been using a medical laser to operate on a woman’s cervix, when suddenly, there was an explosion, and the spreading fire caught on the cloth covering the patient’s body, causing burns.
The event was so shocking that a team of experts were sent to investigate.
They determined that no other flammable gas was present at the time of the explosion, nor did the equipment show any signs of malfunction.
And that meant that the stray little fart must have been the culprit.
The surgery in question involved application of a laser to a patient’s cervix, which is the lowest point of the uterus.
Lasers are routinely used in gynecological surgery, and so everyone thought this would be a typical day of medical procedure.
The woman undergoing surgery received burns to much of her lower body, and was cared for at the hospital. Talk about bad luck.
However, the woman did recover, and we imagine she has quite a story to tell.
Watch the video below for the full report.
If this doesn’t make you anxious about surgery, we’re not sure what will!
Luckily, this occurrence is pretty rare, so there’s no need to worry too much.
If you know anyone who could start a fire with their farts, be sure to SHARE this with them — and to let them know not to eat beans before surgery involving a laser!
