Hospital amputates legs of girl with burnt hands

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/802466-hospital-amputates-legs-of-toddler-with-burnt-hands

Thembisa Kometsi was admitted for treatment after scolding herself in bath water but both of the limbs were amputated below the knee.

The two-year-old is now at home after the operation, thought to have taken place after a communication breakdown during a hospital transfer.

An investigation into how the blunder happened is under way but politicians are demanding a full inquiry.

One theory is that Thembisa had gangrene in her legs and medical staff thought she was supposed to go under the knife to remove them.

‘If any member of hospital staff has been guilty of negligence, they will face disciplinary action and possible dismissal,’ said Mandla Sidu, spokes-man for the Gauteng department of health in South Africa.

‘It is possible the girl was suffering from some form of gangrene in her lower limbs and that is why the operation was performed.

‘However, it could be that there was a miscommunication or mistake. This is what will be established.’

He added: ‘The child is with the family and we are providing them with all the support that they need. I believe the girl is recovering well.’

Thembisa is thought to have burned her hands in hot water in a bath.

She was taken to Far East Rand hospital near Johannesburg and then transferred to the nearby Charlotte Maxeke Academic hospital.

Jack Bloom, health spokesman of the opposition Democratic Alliance party, called for an independent inquiry into what he described as the ‘maiming’ of the toddler.

The snake that ate itself

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/802400-reggie-the-snake-who-ate-himself

When confronted by a free lunch, it was natural for him to want a bite. But the greedy reptile was literally chasing his own tail.

Reggie's owner found him with a mouthful of himself, and headed straight for the vets. Little did he know that Reggie was close to digesting himself. Removing his tail required patience and skill because the snake's teeth face inwards.

'Its teeth were acting like a ratchet,' said vet Bob Reynolds, from Faygate, West Sussex.



'If a snake like this one is kept in a space that is too small then there is always a temptation for it to lunge at its own tail. They can't spread themselves out and think their tails are another snake.'

Reggie was close to being put down because his tail was nearly in his stomach, where it would have begun being digested. King snakes are native to California and feed on rattlesnakes and lizards. And, it seems, themselves.