It was reported on January 21, 1952, that 56-year-old Gretna, Louisiana resident Sidney Landry had been suffering from terrible stomach pains and “decided to do something about them.”

Landry took a penknife and made an incision into his abdomen and cut out about 1-foot (30-cm) of his colon. He then turned on the kitchen faucet and proceeded to wash his intestines before placing them back in his body.

But he was unable to sew up the incision and finally decided to seek medical help. He was taken to Charity hospital in New Orleans and the paper reported that he had been given a 50/50 chance of survival. Sadly, self-operations are not recommended and he passed away on January 25th of that same year.