Doctor Needed on Flight

Many doctors are extremely dedicated to their profession and willing to use their knowledge and skills to help others even when they’re not at work. But one doctor went above and beyond the call of duty when he saved a man’s life by sucking out his urine on a flight. (1)

Two surgeons responded to a request for a doctor on a flight on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. They were about 10 hours into their flight from Guangzhou, China to New York City and had around 6 more to go. (1)

The surgeons were Zhang Hong, from the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University in Guangzhou, and Xiao Zhanxiang, from Hainan Provincial People’s Hospital in Haikou. They took a look at an elderly man, who was sweating profusely and had a swollen belly. (1)

Hong spoke to some of the man’s relatives, who were also on the plane. They told him that the man had previously had issues with an enlarged prostate. This led the surgeons to believe that an enlarged prostate was causing urinary retention and that his bladder was at risk of rupturing on the plane. Hong reported that the man was already showing signs of shock. He and Zhanxiang estimated that he had about one liter, a little more than four cups, of urine stuck in his bladder. (1, 2)

Emergency Procedure

“When I saw that the man could hardly bear the pain anymore, my only thought was how to get the urine out of his bladder,” Hong told the South China Morning Post. (1)

Hong and Zhanxiang created a makeshift catheter from plastic tubing, a straw from a milk carton, tape, and a syringe from the airplane’s medical kit. Flight attendants placed blankets on the floor in the back of the plane for the patient to lie on. The doctors told the man to lie on his side for the procedure. (2)

The surgeons inserted the needle into the man’s bladder to release the urine. However, they soon realized that it was not big enough to ease the pressure in the man’s bladder. (1, 2)

Sucking Urine Out

Hong had another idea to remove the man’s urine. It was unpalatable, but he was committed to saving the man’s life. He got permission from the family of the elderly man. And then Hong proceeded to extract the urine using his mouth. (1, 2)

For 37 minutes, Hong used his mouth to suck 800 milliliters, which is about a pint and a half, of urine from his patient. He spit the urine into an empty wine bottle. (2)

Although this was certainly gross for the doctor, Hong said that it was the best option. “It was an emergency situation. I couldn’t figure out another way,” Zhang told the South China Morning Post. (1)

“If we had not dealt with the situation in time, the patient’s life would have been at risk,” he added. (1)

After the emergency procedure, the doctors told the man to continue to lie down for another half hour. They advised him to see a physician after he got off the flight. (1)