Keep the Towel: Surgeons Discover that Tumor in Patient is Actually 25-Year-Old Towel

Now, here’s a malpractice case for you. Doctors operated on a patient in Japan’s Asahi General Hospital to remove a large tumor in his stomach that was causing abdominal pain. Once inside, they discovered a greenish towel that was left in his stomach since 1983.

The man, 49, has been carrying around the towel for 25 years. Of course, our military doctors has shown that, while we are no long competitive in most markets, we remain number one in such things as medical malpractice. In the infamous Feres case, surgeons removed a 30-inch towel from a patient. Click here. The Japanese towel was a mere three inches.

Notably, while the patient had to have his spleen removed, he is not suing. One has to ask whether a little more malpractice in Japan may be a better deterrent than the occasional news story.

For the full story, click here.