An electrician in Canberra, Australia says he grew so sick of waiting for hospital surgery that he took matters into his own hands, using a utility knife to cut out a painful grape-sized cyst on his hand.
The Canberra man had waited waited over two years for surgery on a grape-sized cyst on his wrist that had become increasingly painful and was affecting his work. The man had become desperate and made the potentially dangerous decision to perform DIY surgery. “I was booked-in as a public patient. That was two years ago,” he said. “The cyst was growing and getting more and more painful. I’m an electrician so I need to use my hands all the time. The lump became sore and I got sick of waiting.”
After waiting two years, Stephen had become more and more frustrated with the delay because the grape-sized growth was affecting his work. Even as the sole breadwinner for his family, he could not get a confirmed surgery date from the hospital. “I got sick of it,” he said. “I grabbed a Stanley knife, disinfected the blade and cut into my wrist. Then I squeezed and popped out the cyst. I put some antiseptic into the wound, put a bandaid over it and that was it.“
Three months after the hobbyist surgery, the electricin said the wound had completely healed and he was again able to use his hands without hinderance or pain.
More details here.