This Reddit Thread Explains What Really Would Have Happened If Kramer Had Dropped A Junior Mint Into A Surgery Patient's Abdominal Cavity
In one of the most famous episodes of "Seinfeld," Jerry and Kramer are watching the operation of a man getting a splenectomy and in a series of unfortunate events, end up dropping a Junior Mint into the open body of the surgery patient.
George Costanza later theorizes it cannot hurt the man because he's seen people eat "pounds of those things." To which Jerry retorts, "Yes, they eat them. They don't put them next to vital organs in their abdominal cavity."
But what would happen if such an incident arose where a foreign object — like a miniature chocolate mint — was left inside a patient after an operation? Redditor peternorthstar reached out to the r/AskScience community for their input on the real life ramifications of such an event.
Here were some of the most interesting responses from the thread by medical professionals.
It Could Cause A Potentially Lethal Infection
It depends on where it lands but let's assume that it's just in an interstitial cavity and not inside an organ or anything.
The most immediate danger is, as you guessed, infection. Kramer was touching his filthy hands to his mouth and then touching the Junior Mint. Directly introducing that to the inside of someone's abdominal cavity could cause a potentially lethal infection if untreated. —halfhalfnhalf
Long Term Effects Could Be Possible Tissue Damage
long-term effects: if the immune system's response to the Junior Mint was particularly aggressive, it could cause "friendly fire" damage to surrounding tissues. This usually isn't a problem, but in some cases, and depending on the damage's location, it can result in the formation of scar tissue. That scar tissue can constrict and change over time, causing parts of the bowel to become kinked and stuck together as they are bound up by the scar. This leads to a bowel obstruction, with subsequent vomiting and inability to move food through the GI tract. That would require an additional surgery to fix. Bowel obstructions due to scarring (called adhesions in medical terminology) can be fixed easily in most cases and are not usually fatal. —badfile
It's Possible The Junior Mint Was Sterile And The Patient Would Be Fine
A single Junior Mint, as shown in the episode, would be expected to cause a minor infection in most healthy individuals. It may cause no infection at all, since the standard of care today is to administer prophylactic antibiotics to all patients undergoing major surgery. The interior of the Junior Mint very likely IS sterile (heat processing of food is wonderful!) and if the mint was untouched before automated manufacturing and packaging was performed, then the only bacteria or infectious organisms on it would be from Kramer's hands, most likely. Unless Kramer is carrying around some seriously dangerous bacterial flora on his hands and hasn't washed them in a long time, he probably has the usual mild bacteria we all do – staph epidermidis and other easily-treated bacteria (which the antibiotics already in the patient's system would treat). —badfile
They Would've Noticed It And Fished It Out
It Eventually Would've Dissolved
If the patient doesn't get an infection and the mint is just chilling and not blocking anything, then it probably wouldn't be a huge risk to the patient as junior mints are fairly small and squishy. Eventually it would be broken down by macrophages.—halfhalfnhalf
The Junior Mint Could've Sparked An Overwhelming Post-Splenectomy Infection
ER surgeon here. I would think there's an extremely high risk of development of an OPSI. I haven't seen the episode but a spit stained mint in the abdominal cavity of a splenectomy patient could be a death sentence if it isn't picked up in time. —randomcitizen87
Your Insides Would Not Be Cooled By Minty Freshness
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