Blue flames shot up from her midsection: A surgical error

During her gallbladder surgery at a hospital on Boston's north shore four years ago, a flash fire ignited on the abdomen of Antoinette DiPhillipo.

Immediately after the gallbladder surgery, her surgeon had rubbed an alcohol-based cleaning solution on her abdomen to help prevent post-op infections, wiped it clean, and then decided to remove a mole there with a hot cautery instrument. Blue flames immediately shot up from her midsection – "similar to a flambé," the surgeon told the state public health investigators. The sterile draping also ignited.

Antoinette suffered painful first- and second-degree burns, even though Operating Room staff had quickly patted down the flames and pulled off the flaming sterile drapes.

Advice: All surgery is risky. Specify beforehand what your surgeon should and should not operate on.


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Thanks to the Boston Globe for this story.