EVERYONE can attest to the fact that surgery in whatever form can be a frightening experience.
There is something about opening up your body parts with a knife that puts any horror movie to shame even though you are very much unconscious.
But we suppose the same cannot be said to an unfortunate patient undergoing surgery in Bangkok which experienced a 7.7 magnitude earthquake recently.
Apparently, the operating theatre was forced to be moved to, of all places, outside. Away from the air conditioning and open to the humid weather, could an infection occur?
Here in a photo post by @PicturesFoIder which had gone viral, the gravity of the situation was revealed.
Surgeries were performed outdoors in the open air during 7.7M earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand pic.twitter.com/3vPSs0hhjg
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) March 30, 2025
Also, observers can note the man at the rear, watching the surgery being performed while he held a soft drink in hand.
It sure sucks to be a patient in Thailand. But at least it beats being buried alive by rubble caused by a collapsing building.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, some netizens manage to make light of the situation. Netizen @Lancedude said, “I’ve heard sunlight is the best antiseptic.”
And then there was @digitalGhostXX who claimed he did earthquake surgeries all the time.
The winning comment, of course goes to @Larpness:
Unimpressed, @LogicalBlockA added that such scenes were common during times of war.
However, @vidursaini suggested that they should at least have curtains around them while @YourPCMan said people should not be spectating as the surgeons needed some peace to focus.
Looking at the photo, the open air surgery may have been done in great haste, hence the lack of medical proprietary.
Also, there was a skeptic in the form of @SpeedScandal who said the photo was a lie, that it would have been next to impossible to get the patients out in time during the earthquake.
To this, @AMVD286185 replied with, “After the 7.7 there were still aftershocks and not yet safe to go back inside.”
The Straits Times has since shed more light into the situation. Apparently, the doctors in the photo were from the Police General Hospital.
Dr Toey, who is also known as Waranyu Jiramrit, said the patient required a colostomy, and the earthquake struck just as the team was about to close the abdominal incision.
The lieutenant-colonel, who works as a surgeon, said he and his team immediately decided to move the patient to a safer location outside the operating room.
After assessing the situation, the team determined that the patient urgently needed surgery to close the abdominal incision.
If left open, there was a risk of bowel displacement or exposure to outside air, which could lead to complications, he told The Nation. —Mar 30, 2025
Main image: @PicturesFoIder
