Stupid Employee Story of the Day: French Doctor Removes Forceps as 'Valentine's Gift

A 31-year-old French woman knew something had gone wrong with her tummy tuck surgery when, five months later, a coughing fit sent the tip of a pair of forceps poking out of her bellybutton. She had been experiencing severe abdominal pain prior to that, but apparently hadn't traveled anywhere that would have required her to go through a metal detector.

A report in the French newspaper Le Progres with highlights translated in Australia's Herald Sun says that her surgeon, Bernard Dessapt of the Natecia Clinic in Lyon, refused to apologize and tried to make light of the incident with a joke. He told the woman, identified as Anne, that removal of the forceps on Monday would be her "Valentine's present."

The forceps were exposed on Friday, but not wanting to go back to work over the weekend, Dessapt delayed their removal, reportedly saying that "another 24-hours would not change her life." When he finally got around to removing them on Monday, he gallantly refused to charge Anne for the surgery.

While the director of the clinic, Jean-Loup Durousset, tried to smooth things over on Tuesday by saying, "I've worked for 25 years with this doctor and never had a single concern," Anne is still not satisfied, and she and her husband are considering legal action.


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