Emergency rooms often encounter cases that are quite unexpected, but it’s not every day that they deal with a historical explosive lodged in someone’s rectum.
If you’ve tuned into any medical drama, you’ve likely seen episodes featuring patients with objects where they shouldn’t be.
However, it’s even more surprising when someone decides to experiment with artillery.
In a startling incident, doctors in France were taken aback when a 24-year-old man came to a Toulouse hospital with a World War One bomb, measuring 16x4cm, lodged in his rectum. The bomb was a relic from 1918.
An anonymous staff member at Rangueil hospital confirmed the event in the local newspaper La Dépêche du Midi, explaining that the man arrived with significant discomfort.
The situation escalated to the point where a bomb disposal unit and firefighters had to assist the hospital, leading to an evacuation due to concerns about the bomb potentially detonating.
The man admitted to staff that he had inserted an object into his rectum but did not specify its nature.
French police sources reportedly mentioned: “At the time of the extraction, the surgeon realized that it is a shell of the First World War, about 16 centimetres long and 4cm wide.”
“As a precautionary measure, firefighters are mobilized to reinforce in order to prevent any risk of fire during the intervention,” La Dépêche reported.
Fortunately, the bomb was found to be decommissioned, and the area was deemed safe.
Strangely, this isn’t the first such incident in France.
A different hospital faced a similar bomb scare and partial evacuation when an 88-year-old sought medical help for anal pain, only to reveal a similar predicament.
A spokesperson at Hospital Sainte Musse in Toulon told Var-Matin: “An emergency occurred from 9pm to 11.30pm on Saturday evening that required the intervention of bomb disposal personnel, the evacuation of adult and paediatric emergencies as well as the diversion of incoming emergencies.”
The individual had placed an artillery shell—eight inches long and two inches wide—into his rectum, where it became lodged. However, the bomb squad assessed that it was unlikely to explode inside the individual.
They added: “They reassured us by telling us that it was a collector’s item from the First World War, used by the French military.”
According to the hospital, the man made a full recovery.
Is this a common practice involving wartime memorabilia?