Doctors refuse to remove Quebecer's volleyball-sized hernia
MONTREAL - A botched skin graft has left a former sanitation worker with a volleyball-sized hernia sticking out of his belly.
Yves Rivest's troubles began in 2003 when a garbage truck ran over him on the job.
"I slid beneath the truck that was backing up at the same time," said Rivest, now 36. "The front wheel passed between my legs, on my stomach."
The suburban Montreal native was in a coma for three weeks and woke up to find his intestines outside his body.
"The surgeon came to see me to explain that my intestines would be in bags for at least a year," said Rivest. "Once my intestines healed, they would reattach them."
Doctors sealed his abdominal wall but the job didn't last.
"There was so much pressure in my stomach that the sutures gave way completely and my stomach began to open," he said. "It didn't smell good and my skin turned black."
With virtually no skin on his belly, Rivest underwent a skin graft from his left leg in 2004.
"The skin graft turned into a 28-inch hernia that weighs 30 pounds," he lamented.
He says doctors are refusing to operate unless he loses weight, but he says he's in a catch-22.
"(Worker's comp) says I can't pull, push or lift anything weighing over five pounds," he said. "How can I train?"
Rivest weighs 235 pounds but points out that he'd weigh 205 pounds if doctors would remove the giant hernia.
Doctors refuse to remove Quebecer's volleyball-sized hernia | Canada | News | Winnipeg Sun
MONTREAL - A botched skin graft has left a former sanitation worker with a volleyball-sized hernia sticking out of his belly.
Yves Rivest's troubles began in 2003 when a garbage truck ran over him on the job.
"I slid beneath the truck that was backing up at the same time," said Rivest, now 36. "The front wheel passed between my legs, on my stomach."
The suburban Montreal native was in a coma for three weeks and woke up to find his intestines outside his body.
"The surgeon came to see me to explain that my intestines would be in bags for at least a year," said Rivest. "Once my intestines healed, they would reattach them."
Doctors sealed his abdominal wall but the job didn't last.
"There was so much pressure in my stomach that the sutures gave way completely and my stomach began to open," he said. "It didn't smell good and my skin turned black."
With virtually no skin on his belly, Rivest underwent a skin graft from his left leg in 2004.
"The skin graft turned into a 28-inch hernia that weighs 30 pounds," he lamented.
He says doctors are refusing to operate unless he loses weight, but he says he's in a catch-22.
"(Worker's comp) says I can't pull, push or lift anything weighing over five pounds," he said. "How can I train?"
Rivest weighs 235 pounds but points out that he'd weigh 205 pounds if doctors would remove the giant hernia.
Doctors refuse to remove Quebecer's volleyball-sized hernia | Canada | News | Winnipeg Sun
