A family in Canada will have to undergo 6 months of medical tests after they recently found an intravenous catheter in a tub of ice cream. In light of this story, we asked Sermo physicians, have you ever found a medical device where it shouldn’t be? Doctors shared their most unusual, and sometimes unsettling, stories:
“I had a patient who accidentally swallowed her hearing aid batteries (she didn’t have her glasses on so thought they were pills!). We weren’t certain what to do, so we consulted the gastroenterologist, who wasn’t sure either, but ended up scoping her and just taking them out.” – Emergency Medicine
“Back when hospitals kept glass thermometers at patients bedsides we had one chewed up and eaten by one of our patients. Definitely a medical device found in the wrong place – confirmed on XRay. Probably tasted better than the hospital food.” – Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
“IUD in a guy’s stomach.” – Neurology
“I found an old needle from a syringe underneath someone’s skin.” – Dermatology
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