# How can this happen? Surgical question

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-happen-surgical-question/170367
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 22, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-happen-surgical-question/170367 "2003-04-22T18:18:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Rob\_V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Rob\_V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rob_V)
#### Post date: [April 22, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-this-happen-surgical-question/170367/1 "2003-04-22T18:18:57Z")

</div>

An 8yr old boy goes in for routine tonsilectomy in San Jose Ca.  
According to this story [http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/2150335/detail.html](http://www.thekcrachannel.com/news/2150335/detail.html)

The surgical equipment “catches fire” severly burning his mouth, throat and LUNGS? WTF?

I mean I could see if they were using some type of “electric knife” that the main unit, presumably on a rack or table, could catch fire, but the instrument in the patients mouth???

Any surgeon dopers out there to explain this?