This case shocked even the hardened emergency room staff at Sainte Musse Hospital in Toulon, southern France. «An apple, a mango or even a can of shaving cream… We are used to finding unusual objects where they don’t belong. But a grenade? Never!”, an employee tells the newspaper “Var Matin”.
The hospital had to be partially evacuated last Saturday. The reason: An 88-year-old man came to the emergency room with a World War I grenade. But he didn’t have the dangerous in his hand, but in his buttocks. Doctors had to surgically remove the grenade.
A surgeon managed to pass the eight-inch explosive through the man’s abdomen. An employee who was present at the operation told the French newspaper: “It rarely comes out the way it came in.”
The grenade failed to explode
To ensure the safety of all patients, emergency rooms for adults and children have been evacuated. New patients had to be taken to other hospitals for hours. In the end, everything went normally only in the maternity ward and in gynecology.
Even explosives experts were alerted. But they were able to give the all-clear quickly. At no time was there any danger of an explosion. The grenade is only a collector’s item from the First World War.
According to the report, the senior passed the procedure well. On Monday morning, the hospital management thanked the employees for their efforts. A photo of the bullet has been circulating among hospital staff for some time. (nad)