US immigration cavity search ends in agony

[mawilson 2,133]

US immigration officials insisted the sufferer of an ####### infection remove a small piece

of medical thread which was being used by doctors to treat the condition. The man

required treatment under general anaesthetic as a result.

The man had an ####### fistula, which is a painful channel that can develop deep into

the #######, caused by infection or digestive conditions such as Crohn's disease. More

details, if absolutely necessary, from NHS Direct here.

Arriving on holiday in New York in August last year, the unnamed 48-year-old was

interrogated and searched by immigration officers, according to a letter appearing

in medical journal The Lancet. The rectal examination discovered a device called a seton,

which doctors in the UK had inserted into the fistula to help control long-term infection.

The seton was made of a blue braided medical suture material knotted and passed into

the hole where the fistula surfaced. After one baffled immigration officer pulled "very hard"

on the seton, the patient was given the choice by the baffled immigration officers of either

getting on the next plane home, or submitting himself to a procedure to have it removed.

Happily, as The Lancet's correspondent notes, the curious immigration officer yanking

the seton did not damage "the ####### sphincter muscles encircled by it".

The seton was duly removed by an airport doctor, who claimed to have no idea what it was.

The man now requires treatment under general anaesthetic to have a replacement inserted.

The letter writer concludes by advising seton patients to carry a letter from their doctor

when travelling "to the USA or any other country where they are likely to be searched in

this manner".

Read the wince-inducing letter here (free registration required).

[almaty 19]

whoa...........................ouch

[DeadPoolX 9]

That's a$$-tounding!

[doodlebug 3]

just ate and now i think i'm gonna hurl

[heishe 2]

/sob

[rebeccajo 14]

Whatever made them exam him? Did they see it on the xray when he walked through it?

[Augustajim 0]

Not a pleasant ENDing!

[cbd2cai 0]

Yikes!!

[Mags 112]

*winces*

[~kiyah~ 14]

OMG the poor man...I would be furious at immigration. I sure hope that the US government is paying for his replacement.

~Kiyah~

[mawilson 2,133]

Proves once again that

U.S. immigration = pain in the #######

[jordanianprincess 0]

That's a$$-tounding!

[brnidokiegurl 1]

UNREAL!!!!!!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Whatever made them exam him? Did they see it on the xray when he walked through it?

people don't walk through x-ray machines

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Couldn't the guy have gotten his doctor on the phone to explain to immigration? I'm wondering if he can sue?