Over the years, Grey’s Anatomy has featured many zany medical storylines. Series creator Shonda Rhimes has admitted in serveral interviews that some of the crazy cases that are depicted on the hit ABC series are real. We at TV Overmind have scanned over the first four seasons worth of episodes and picked some of the unbelievable cases the doctors at the former Seattle Grace and now Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital worked on during that time. You may have forgotten some of these were featured on the series, but hopefully after reading this article you will not soon forget about them.
A Man with a Head full of Nails, from the season 1 episode, “No Man’s Land”
Grey’s Anatomy was still a very new series when this episode aired. A patient is admitted into the hospital after getting shot with a nail gun several times in the head. Luckily, Dr. Derek Shepherd is on the case and is the best neurosurgeons around. Derek is able to remove all of the nails in this poor man’s head and it looks like he will make a speedy recovery. However, on closer inspection it is revealed that the man has a brain tumor and may not survive. Talk about a day worth of bad luck.
A 70 Pound Tumor, from the season 1 episode, “If Tomorrow Never Comes”
Ever wonder what a tumor that weighed the same size as a child would look like? After watching this episode from the first season of Grey’s Anatomy, you no longer need to ponder it. A woman is admitted into Seattle Grace with a 70 pound tumor. Due to the size of it, all surgeons are required to scrub in on the case. Cristina and George are selected to hold the tumor for the entire 14 hour surgery. Unfortunately, the patient does not survive the surgery and is pronounced dead.
Two People Impaled on the Same Pole, from the season 2 episode, “Into You Like a Train”
I still remember this tear-jerker of a Grey’s Anatomy episode even though it originally aired over nine years ago. There has been a devastating train accident in Seattle and many of the people injured are taken to Seattle Grace for treatment. Two of those patients were sitting facing one another on the train and have now been impaled by the same pole. The one is a young female and the other is a middle-aged gentleman. The doctors determine that there is no way to save both patients. The young woman is hurt more than the man so she volunteers her life to save his. This was truly one of the saddest episode of the series to date.
A Pregnant Man, from the season 2 episode, “Something to Talk About”
This episode of Grey’s Anatomy is sort of like the movie Junior, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, except in this case the patient is not actually pregnant. A man comes to the hospital because he believes he is having a baby, but it is soon determined that he is experiencing a hysterical pregnancy. This means that the patient has all the signs of being pregnant even though there is no fetus present. Everyone at the hospital is invading his privacy, which infuriates Meredith as she is going through the same thing with her relationship with Derek.
A Couple is Stuck Together, from the season 3 episode, “Oh, the Guilt”
Imagine how horrible it would be to be handcuffed to your ex? Take that image and multiply it by 10 for the case featured in this season three episode of Grey’s Anatomy. A man and woman are rushed to Seattle Grace Hospital. They are exes and were having a little midday romp in the sack and are now stuck together. The man has a piercing that has become stuck. One of them has remarried and the only way the two can get together is sneaking away during the work day. Their daughter meets them at the hospital and sees her parents connected in a way that no child should ever have to see.
A Fish in an Awkward Place, from the season 3 episode, “Desire”
The Chairman of the Hospital Board has been admitted. They soon find out that a fish has swam into his urinary tract and is now stuck in his urethra after going on vacation with his secretary. The physicians gather that his wife had been aware of the affair with the secretary the whole time and has now asked for a divorce. Even worse, the secretary leaves him as well. On the plus side, the fish was removed from his body and he is able to make a full recovery.
A Deer as a Patient, from the season 4 episode, “A Change is Gonna Happen”
This episode would be when the character of Izzie Stevens jumped the shark on Grey’s Anatomy. Not only was she in love with George around this same time, she is also a mentor to new interns entering the program. She tries to be stern with them, but they are unable to take her seriously as a doctor. Izzie tries to find a human patient for her students to work on, but to no avail. She resorts to the next best thing which is operating on an injured deer a young boy found. Izzie always lets her emotions interfere with her career,but is able to revive the deer. Too bad Chris O’Donnell was not around as McVet to save the day, so Izzie could help sick PEOPLE.
A Man Cuts Off His Own Foot, from the season 4 episode, “Haunt You Every Day”
It is Halloween on Grey’s Anatomy and the doctors are warned that crazy people will be coming to Seattle Grace all night long. There is an annual chainsaw pumpkin carving contest taking place and one of the participants has cut his finger off. Another patient talks to Miranda and requests that he get his foot amputated because it does not belong to him. Miranda refuses to do such a procedure and orders that he get a psych evaluation. The man sees the unattended chainsaw from the man who lost his finger and proceeds to try to cut his foot off himself. After the mishap, Callie is forced to amputate the foot.
What are some of your favorite crazy cases from Grey’s Anatomy? Let us know in the comments section below.
Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for PCA
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