Zhang Hong, a doctor from the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, siphons out urine with his mouth. [Photo/people.com.cn]

Doctor on plane sucks out elderly man's urine

A doctor on board a flight saved an elderly man, who suffered acute urinary retention (AUR) and was at risk of bladder rupture, by sucking the man's urine out with his mouth.

Zhang Hong was on Flight CZ399 from Guangzhou to New York on Nov 19 when he learned of a man unable to urinate while six hours of flying time still remained before landing.

When a makeshift urine draining device made by another doctor onboard could not extract the man's urine, Zhang decided to siphon out the liquid with his mouth. He repeatedly siphoned out mouthfuls of urine, a process that took about 37 minutes.

With the urine drained bit by bit, the man gradually recovered. When the plane arrived in New York, the man got off the plane safely with his wife. Both of the doctors were later honored for their courageous life-saving acts.