Pessary

A pessary is a small device worn, often by elderly women who have had multiple children, to hold bladder or uterus in place. It is a small plastic disc placed in the vagina. As you can imagine these things can get very nasty. All it takes is a demented nursing home pt. to forget that she has one of these for a couple months and.....zang! But nothing could prepare you for a chief complaint of "leaves from virginia". A friend of mine saw a lady, brought in by her daughter, with just this complaint. When he looked it was true. She had a vine, with leaves, protruding from her "Virginia". Turns out, the demented lady had secretly , for years, used slices of potatoes as pessaries! When she forgot that she had it in, the warm, moist environment was perfect for sprouting spuds!