Man's attempt to open beer with chopstick ends disastrously
Shocking pictures show a drunk man who impaled his palm with a chopstick trying to imitate a viral video.
The clips trending on Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin, which is known in Engish-speaking markets as Tik Tok, show a waiter placing a vertical chopstick under the lip of the sealed bottle cap before removing it with a single forceful push.
But the technique requires skill and can go horribly wrong when done incorrectly, as this patient found.
Pictures shared by hand and foot surgeon Xiong Zhenfei show the eating utensil having been impaled so deep into the man’s palm that it has caused a bulge under his skin on the other side of his hand.
“He looked pretty calm, probably because he had had too much to drink and was numbed by the alcohol,” the doctor said.
“The chopstick was about two centimetres deep in his palm and was bulging on the back of his hand.
“He said it hurt a lot and wanted me to pull it out. I asked how it happened, and he said he tried to show off by opening his third beer with a chopstick.
“He hit the bottom of the chopstick too hard and it went into his palm. His fingers were numb - likely due to nerve damage,” Dr Xiong said.
The physician removed the chopstick in a 30-minute procedure and the young patient was discharged the following morning.
“I was supposed to cut his palm open to check for nerve damage, but he refused and left the following morning. So it’s hard to say whether he will suffer any long-term effects from the injury,” he added.
Five men hospitalised from impaled chopsticks in fortnight
The Xiaoshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang Province, revealed it had admitted five different men who arrived with similar injuries in the past two weeks.
Dr Zhenfei, who treated three of the five cases, said three of them were young men in their early 20s.
“All three of them arrived holding their right hand, which had a chopstick embedded in the palm,” he said.
“It was during a period of time when the weather was particularly hot and they were all having meals outside and drinking [cold beers].
“One came in with three friends - all in their 20s - and had a brown chopstick in the centre of his palm.”
Dr Xiong shared the pictures to warn others others against attempting the risky party trick.
-Asia Wire
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