Should you ask for surgery souvenirs?

[stephenr]

I once had a client who was promised her finger back after amputation. I researched the issue of who has the right to “body parts.” There are so many historical and religious issues that pop up from right to burial for such items to other support for it is a person’s right. Although it was approved pre-surgery and she had a note attached to her, the hospital refused to turn over the finger. Ultimately after being challenged the finger was taken out of formaldehyde and placed in saline and sat on a lawyers desk for 8 hours. After a final demand and concerns that the finger was being shown in that office as some type of joke, the hospital insisted it was a “sharp” and the fluid was hazardous. In the end An idea came up to have a local funeral home take custody. A very kind and caring director prepared the finger and ultimately the finger was given to the person. An interesting but true story and it should be remembered how odd it may seem the right to one’s body has a long history in the law and religion. I hope I’ve opened your possible position on this issue.

[jeanviarengo]

I asked for pictures of my surgery... and the circulating RN got permission from the surgeon and took pics with my camera.... placed inside a sealed sterile bag. It was awesome! (But I'm an RN and at the time actually worked in surgery)

[carriemartinez-schmidt]

I got my old pacemaker back after my latest replacement surgery! I wanted it fresh out of my body in a specimen cup but they actually had to send it back to the manufacturer and they sanitized it. They sent it to me via FedEx all nice and clean. It was really weird to finally see the device that had been in my chest and kept me alive for six years for the very first time!

[onlythetruth]

I totally understand them, patients want to frame the artwork

[dakotajaymes]

My dad had a toe amputated after a minor home accident (osteomyelitis- sometimes it's better to seek professional help for a minor injury). It was a few weeks before Christmas, and I asked the surgeon if I could have the toe. He asked why. I said I wanted to hang it from the overhang on the front porch so people could kiss under the Missing Toe. Everyone laughed. The surgeon was speechless. I did not get the toe.

[LoriNuttall]

I kept my plates and screws from my broken wrist when I elected to have them removed. Gave them to my physical therapist to put on his medical skeleton. I'm giving him my plate and screws from my tibial plateau break when I get my knee replacement to also put on it.

[roseotterdavidson]

When I had to have a first rib resection, I asked repeatedly if I could have my rib, to no avail. They kept refusing me. And I never got it. But I had heard of other people who were able to have their rib. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[resourcedragon]

Gall stones, kidney stones, bladder gravel are all solids that are reasonably easy to store, and teeth can be cleaned up so that they can be stored. I'd definitely want to keep those.

Soft parts present storage difficulties - unless they are bottled in some sort of a preservative. I do know of one person who was given her adenoids - which were pretty much Guinness Book of Records contenders.

Soft parts often also need to be sent off for testing, which makes them unsuitable for giving to the patient. So, in those cases, either showing the patient the bit that has been put in a bag or a phial ready to be sent off, or showing them a photograph is more appropriate.

Rods, pins, screws, etc - I guess if you want them you should be allowed to keep them.

Amputated digits or limbs - like with soft parts, definitely present storage difficulties - but if the patient has a practical plan (even if you think it's silly, like giving a foot a funeral) let them have it. My body is ... my body.

[Johnno]

I had surgery with a incision from my sternum to my groin and asked my surgeon for a photo of my insides.
He cleared it with the scrub nurse and now I had a great picture of me on the operating table with my insides splayed open. 😀🇦🇺

[JohnnyCatFitz]

I have the bladder stones from this hansome guy 😁🐾🐾

[jodyljohnson]

No thanks on any stones! Luckily I've never had any! I did get to keep the rods and screws that were in my legs! Stainless steel ones! I didn't want to get held up in security at the airport! Thanks Dr Kaveh! I hope you're having a great weekend! Love from North Carolina!💞✌️

[cherylmcnutt]

My father had a green prescription bottle that contained three gallstones that were removed from his surgery back in the 1960s. I think that used to be something that surgeons did back then. When my gallbladder was removed 20+ years later, I didn’t ask for my stones, which was just as well as I was told I had between 40 & 50 stones AND they weren’t able to get them all (I was bad about telling the doctor the recurrence of gall bladder attacks for two weeks after he discovered the stones in the first place. 🤦‍♀️ They kept me in the hospital for over a week longer to pull stones out of my bile duct every day for 8 days. I was brought up to be stoic and not complain to doctors unless absolutely necessary. I didn’t think pain and vomiting were all that big a deal because it had been happening off and on for years before that. Guess I just have a higher tolerance for pain than most.

When both my parents had gall bladder attacks they’d go to the emergency room. Me? I’d just go lay down in my office, behind my desk until the pain passed. Was told I’m lucky I didn’t get sepsis, 😮

[nancynelosn]

Love you, but haven't seen your dog mentioned in a long time. Would love to see your wife. You are appreciated for sharing so much information.

[GenderlessSpoonie]

I’ve asked for a few things on the past. I asked to keep the screws they took out of my ankle after almost ten years and I always ask if I can keep my teeth after an extraction lol

[lorikendrick]

I have my gallstones. It's just interesting to see what they look like.

[mariemcgrath]

I had Gallbladder surgery in 1991& wanted my stones, all 24, except the one taken for biopsy. They over time decenterated into fine powder. Plus my Jackson Pratt drain & T-tube drain. Relax, I was a nurse back than.

[DomMia]

I have had 14 surgeries on my lower leg, ankle, and foot because of a car accident (other injuries and surgeries from it too). I have had so many plates, screws, rods, wire, nails, internal bone stimulators, and battery packs. I have had over 70 total but currently have 44 implanted. My husband always jokes with my doctor that if metal prices go up that they can scrap my leg and split the profit, which always makes my doctor laugh. A couple of surgeries ago, I joked when going under that he and my husband have a standing deal about my titanium and that the patient isn't even in on it. I said, "I don't even have an old screw to use as a keychain." This was going to be one of the take some out and put more in kind of surgeries. When I was waking up in recovery my nurse said, "Honey, you got a little present for you from Dr. K." It was a specimen bag with some of the screws and plates he took out and the techs could clean up enough and would be safe for me to have. There was a note on it, "For keychain or jewelry use. If Hubby scraps, Doc gets half." When I read it, I thought I was loopy from the meds still. When I got to my room, Hubby saw it and couldn't stop laughing. Going through TSA or customs is so much fun for me too. I already know that I'm going to secondary with what my husband and I have nicknamed it "The Bionic One".

Bonus: Most of the inside of that ankle are surgical skin graphs. It was a 7 inch x 5 inch and two inches deep hole where necrotic tissue started going through my foot pretty early in this experience. They're made from cells of pig intestines... 5 surgical graphs total. Football season is always with me, which is ironic since it's my least favorite sport. I still randomly break out in the Oscar Meyer bologna song when we are shopping in the meat department. I often break out with my best Vanna White wave saying, "Look Honey! It's my family" I also have had food allergies since childhood, one of which is foods smoked with oak, hickory, and pecan. I can't even have bacon so Hubby says that I'm allergic to my own foot. 🤣 Sometimes, you just have to find humor in the hard stuff and it helps when you have someone there for the good, bad, and ugly... even for good natured teasing. Crying and anger can be very tiring at times and certainly has it's place, but it can be enough to drive a person into madness. Bitterness is not a good look either and can rob you of what joy life can bring, especially after almost 18 years of dealing with all of this. Life isn't about what happens to you as much as it is about what you do with the deck you were given. That is where your legacy will live long after you're gone from this world.

[la.chameleon]

I was asked before gallstone surgery in NZ whether I wanted to see/have the stones after surgery. I said "yes" because I wanted to see the little monsters that had caused me endless agony.

[Melanie-nkij]

I’m a curious one and want to see! I did take home a salivary stone from under my tongue to show my mom and threw it out after I crushed it. I wanted to see how hard it was !😂

[eliz]

Back in the 70s my doctor kept my tonsils in formaldehyde - which of course evaporated - found them 40 years later 😂... Like 2 pebbles