GLENDALE, Calif. — A southern California man was recovering in the hospital Tuesday after he tried to remove a protruding hernia from his stomach with a six-inch butter knife — and then stuck a cigarette in the open wound, KTLA-TV reported.
The 63-year-old Glendale man, whose name was not released, was rushed to the hospital Sunday night after his wife called police, KTLA-TV reported. She reportedly told investigators that her husband had become tired of waiting for the appropriate surgery and decided to cut the hernia out himself.
Officers arrived to find the man lying naked on a lounge chair with the handle of the knife sticking out of his stomach, KTLA-TV reported.
While waiting for the paramedics to arrive, the man suddenly pulled the knife from his body and stuck a cigarette in the open wound, police said.
He was then taken to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center to be treated for his injury and put on a psychiatric hold.
Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz told KTLA-TV that the man did not puncture any vital organs, but would soon receive the proper hernia operation performed by real doctors.