Final answer:
An unlikely event that left Dr. Carson without a passport right before his scheduled trip to West Germany may have been the loss or theft of his passport. In such a situation, he would need to take immediate action to report the incident and apply for a replacement passport.
Step-by-step explanation:
An unlikely event that left Dr. Carson without a passport right before he was to travel to West Germany to perform the surgery is not provided in the referenced information. However, one possible scenario could be if the passport was lost or stolen. This would be considered an unexpected and unfortunate event.
If Dr. Carson's passport was lost or stolen, he would need to take immediate action in order to obtain a new one. He would have to report the loss or theft to the authorities and apply for a replacement passport.
In such a situation, Dr. Carson would need to contact the embassy or consulate of his home country in order to initiate the process of obtaining a new passport. He would need to provide necessary documentation and complete the required forms to request a replacement.