Road Kill On The Information Highway

Struggling to keep informed, as a concerned citizen of the world should, I go to Yahoo! news, and see this headline; "Foot-Long Surgical Tool Left In Woman's Abdomen". Seems 66 year old Adenka Kopeckova whet to the doctor 5 months ago for some gynecological surgery (probably INCONTINENCE related, as if the poor woman hasn't suffered enough), somebody didn't bother to take inventory after surgery, and they stitched her up with a free prize inside. When she complained of UNRELENTING PAIN which had her contemplating suicide, and asked for an X-Ray to aid in diagnosis, the helpful hospital staff counseled against it so as not to expose her to unnecessary radiation. But persistence paid off, and Adenka is now a headline.

What surgical instrument is 12 inches long and left in a woman? Youth wants to know, so to Google we go! Turns out it was some damn spatula like thing, that apparently is very inexpensive, or they would have taken the time to remove it before they sewed her up and sent her on her way.

Now, the great thing about Google is, you get a LOT more than you ask for. When I "Googled" "twelve inch gynecological surgical instruments", I got a Forum Board entry which read "I left my 12 inch instrument in a chick before", and a whole lot of adds for online purchasing of surgical instruments, such as the one for Harvard Apparatus, from whom one can purchase fine German made surgical instruments of hardened stainless steel, from Bulldog Clamps to Decapitators. And Bone Wax too. I don't even want to know.

I only hope that they keep track of all purchases made online from these sites. It reminds me of when I worked in the book warehouse, and saw "The History of Torture" and wondered who the hell would want to buy that book, and hoped that whoever did would be placed on an FBI watch list.