People lose many items in almost every conceivable place and the doctor’s office is no exception. It may even be more common than you think. The normal scenario goes like this - as the patient is about to leave they suddenly find that they have lost something. Common on the list of lost items are sweaters and jackets, easily found objects which are simply the result of the patient’s desire to flee the doctor’s office as quickly as possible. The list of items people lost in my office is quite long, but some instances bring back memories. One of the worst tragedies was the patient who had lost her dentures. We disassembled the office without success. After a prolonged period the patient looked in the last place she could think —her mouth. One other instance that comes to mind is the problem of the lost automobile keys. The patient had left the office only to return quite agitated. She could not find her car keys. She had driven to the office without a problem, but on returning to her car she could not find her key. She was sure it was lost in the office. We searched the examining room, the waiting room, the bathroom and finally after all else had proved fruitless we were able to determine that she had used the bathroom and had flushed the toilet. After considerable procrastination we donned rubber gloves and delved deeper into the toilet. There, the key was found, and after much rinsing and washing we were able to return the keys and the patient left intact.
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