By David Wyld, Contributing Editor

In late 2002, a Canadian woman set off an airport metal detector. When she was “wanded,” the metal detector consistently sounded when placed near her abdomen. She had undergone surgery four months earlier and had suffered from unexplained abdominal pain ever since. Several days after the airport incident, an x-ray of her abdomen revealed the presence of a 12-inch long, 2-inch wide surgical retractor.