How stupid can some women get? The latest trend in elective surgery is to have ugly toes reshaped and cut shorter. Why? So that they can look good in those ridiculous open-toed shoes with the stilt heels that are all the rage in the world of fashion. I last read about such operations in “Cinderella,” in which the ugly sisters cut off their toes to try to fit into Cinderella’s “glass slipper.” So nothing much has changed in the past three centuries.

I am particularly nonplussed about this cosmetic surgery stupidity because people don’t seem to realise how risky any surgical procedure can be. Let’s face it, if your biggest concern is the length of your toes, perhaps a brain transplant from an amoeba would raise your I.Q.

What happened to my husband a couple of weeks ago has made me even more aware of the dangers of all medical procedures. He went for a routine colonoscopy/gastroscopy, the sort that one is supposed to have every few years, according to the medical profession, that is.

Anyhow, the endoscope perforated his bowel and this led to major surgery. All medical procedures are risky and even though you sign a document saying that you realise that there can be complications, you never really think it can happen to you. Well, it can.

My husband had to stay in hospital for eleven days and will take a long while to recover. He had four specialists looking after him and a miserable time was had by all.

So should one have a colonoscopy or gastroscopy? Who knows? Quite frankly, I’m terrified of any invasive procedure, but when it comes to check-ups we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.