Needle in a Haystack
by Kenneth Lyen
One of the delights in life is having a meal together with friends, and finding out their tastes, their interests, their experiences.... and their sense of humour!
I was having lunch with Dr Khor Tong Hong, a radiation oncologist, who recounted his encounter with a horse. One day, out of the blue, he received a telephone call from a veterinarian of the Singapore Turf Club, concerning a horse who suffered from equine sarcoma, a slow-growing fibrosarcoma tumour. Unfortunately, the tumour has a tendency to recur when removed surgically, and this horse had already had a couple of recurrences. Dr Khor used the internet to connect with Dr Knottenbelt in Liverpool, an expert on this particular equine sarcoma. The latter advised insertion of iridium 192 (radioactive) wires into the tumour bed after surgery, for seven days, to prevent further recurrence.
The tumour was in the eyelid, so Dr Khor carefully inserted seven iridium wires into plastic tubes inserted into the operative site around the eyelid. Afterwards, he instructed the vet looking after the horse to place a collar around the neck so that the horse could not move the head and rub its eyes, which could dislodge the loaded plastic tubes. Unfortunately the collar was too large for the horse and was not used.
On the fourth postoperative day, Dr Khor was informed that one of the radioactive needles had been dislodged. He searched everywhere in the stables but could not find the missing wire which had fallen into the stack of hay. Failure to recover the missing needle would jeopardise his goodstanding with the Radiation Protection Inspectorate.
Daily attempts at “sweeping” the stable with a Geiger Counter failed to locate the missing wire. On the last day of the implant, the six wires were removed from the horse. Then came the daunting task of recovering the missing wire. Looking for a needle in a haystack, literally, they systematically searched inside the horse stall and the hay in a dumpster due for disposal. In fact they were in a race against time because the haystack was due for disposal within the next hour. Frantically they scoured every nook and cranny, and at the very last moment they located the missing wire encased still within the plastic tube. Whew!
The horse returned to good health and returned to racing with success.
Several linguistic jokes kicked up during the storytelling. I need not mention the obvious one of locating a fine (0.3mm wire in a 5mm plastic tubing) in dried grass used for fodder. Some of the others were thought of but were not necessarily uttered because they are quite lame. They include “don’t horse around with me”, “please get off your high horse”, “you’re backing the wrong horse”, “you’re looking a gift horse in the eye (not mouth!)”, etc. Groan!
One final thought. The younger generation often regard the older generation as people who are over the hill, gone past their prime. But some of the older folks may have a store of memories, of insights, of understanding. They are like needles buried in unremembered haystacks. Look for these needles, and you might discover a wealth of learning, of wisdom. Get pricked into action. Ouch!
Dr Khor recounted this episode in his 2005 Dr FY Khoo Memorial Lecture of the Singapore Radiological Society and the College of Radiologists, Singapore.
Kudos to Dr Khor for his zoophilia!
Reference: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/eef7/73cca999c28a2196478592c5915acec9544f.pdf
Ken
8 June 2019
Biodata: Dr Khor Tong Hong was born in Penang and studied medicine in Singapore where he was an Entrance Scholar in 1961 and was awarded the Singapore Government Departmental Scholarship 1961-1966. He received the University Book prize in 1962; the University Silver medal in 1965; the Bailey Memorial medal in 1965. He was the Association Commonwealth Universities scholar 1969-1970 spending his time at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, for his Post Graduate training in Medical Radiotherapy, and was awarded a Travel Fellowship by Singapore’s Ministry of Health in 1983, visiting Centres of Excellence in North America.
Dr Khor was Senior Consultant at the Singapore General Hospital 1981-1989, the Medical Director and Chief, Mount Elizabeth Radiation Oncology since inception in 1989 to 2003. He is Senior Consultant, Radiation Oncology, Mount Elizabeth Hospital 2004-present. He was a Visiting Consultant to the Department of Radiation Oncology at the National Cancer Centre, Singapore General Hospital 2004-2019 and a Visiting Consultant at the Department of Radiation Oncology, Farrer Park Hospital.
