The Korea Herald

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U.S. man attempts self-surgery with butter knife

By 박한나

Published : July 27, 2011 - 11:14

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GLENDALE, California (AP) -- A man stuck a butter knife into his belly in a failed bid at self-surgery to remove a painful hernia, police said Tuesday.

The wife of the 63-year-old Glendale man called paramedics on Sunday night and told the emergency operator her husband was using a knife to remove a protruding hernia, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“She said he had impaled himself with a knife,” Lorenz said.

Officers found the man naked on a patio lounge chair outside his apartment with a 6-inch (15-centimeter) butter knife sticking out of his stomach.

The man's wife told officers that her husband was upset about the hernia and wanted to take it out.

While waiting for paramedics, the sergeant said, the man pulled out the knife and stuffed a cigarette he was smoking into the bleeding, open wound.

“What he was thinking, I don't know. I don't know if he was cauterizing it (the wound),” Lorenz said.

The man wasn't screaming or showing any signs of pain, the sergeant said.

Based on his actions and statements from the wife, Lorenz said the man was placed on psychiatric hold and taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Because he's on psychiatric hold for up to 72 hours under the state Welfare and Institutions Code, Lorenz said the man's name and condition cannot be released.

“You just never know what to expect,” said Lorenz, who has been on the police force for 29 years. “I've seen self-mutilation, but not a maneuver like this.”

 

<한글 기사>

美 60대男, 자신의 탈장 수술하다 병원행

미국 로스앤젤레스에서 63세 노인이 버터를 자르는 칼로 직접 자신의 탈장을 수술하려다 병원에 실려갔다.

27일 현지 언론에 따르면 로스앤젤레스 근교 글렌데일에 사는 63세의 남성은 지 난 24일 15㎝ 길이의 버터 칼로 배를 째고 탈장을 제거하려다 너무 아파 구급차를 부르는 소동을 빚었다.

이 남성은 통증이 너무 심하자 부인을 불렀고 부인이 911에 연락, 구급차가 도착해 병원으로 후송했다.

다행히 생명에는 지장이 없어 금세 안정을 되찾았다고 병원 관계자는 밝혔다.

이 남성을 치료한 의사는 "탈장 제거 수술은 숙련된 외과의사라면 20∼30분이면 끝내는 비교적 간단한 시술이지만 일반인이 직접 해내기는 절대 불가능하다"고 말했다. (연합뉴스)