Jingle All the Way

Together, we entered the exam room. “Well, we’ve had some true confessions,” Mrs. Smith said dryly. “Lisa has a Christmas bell in her vagina—obviously the work of a curious 13-year-old!”

The doctor and I were taken by surprise, but we proceeded with the challenge of the day. Thinking we were dealing with a standard Christmas bell, we attempted to break the suction of the bell on Lisa’s cervix. This proved to be more difficult than we anticipated. After getting a closer look at the bell, we realized that it was a “jingle” bell rather than a standard bell shape.

The crosshair opening of the jingle bell had slipped over Lisa’s cervix. The cervix had become edematous and necrotic. The doctor gave one final pull, and the bell—with cervical tissue inside—flew out.

We needed pliers to open the bell so we could send a tissue sample to the pathology department for evaluation. Lisa received high-dose antibiotics and after several follow-up visits, she was declared healed.

This patient encounter, which also falls under the categories of unbelievable, unconventional, and amazing, was definitely unforgettable to me.