The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
An elderly woman who misplaced her false teeth only for doctors to discover she had swallowed them.
The patient, who suffered from dementia, only had mild pain, difficulty swallowing or nausea, but was taken to the hospital by her son as a precaution.
Doctors were puzzled as to where the lower denture could have gone and performed an scan on the elderly patient.
A camera was inserted into the woman’s lower digestive system where the denture was discovered in her stomach.
The elderly woman was unaware she had swallowed her missing dentures and was not complaining of any pain, swallowing difficulties or nausea.
Doctors performed an esophagogastroduodenoscopy to search for the missing dentures and discovered them in the patient’s stomach.
The endoscope was then removed and re-inserted with a foreign body hood protector attached to the tip.
After several failed attempts, doctors were able to place the hood protector over the denture and grasp it with rat-tooth forceps, removing the foreign object from the woman’s stomach.
The procedure lasted just over two hours and the patient was allowed to return home the following day.
Experts at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas said there was no significant injury caused by the denture’s removal.
The medical team wrote: ‘Dentures are actually one of the most commonly ingested items in adults. Others include bones, chicken or fish, and jewelry.’
Doctors added that the woman’s history of dementia, stroke, and central nervous system lymphoma made her less aware of the foreign body passing into her stomach.
The medical team advanced an endoscope into the woman’s esophageal sphincter where the denture was discovered in her stomach.
Doctors attached a hood protector over the denture and grasped it with rat-tooth forceps. After several attempts, doctors were able to remove the denture from the woman’s stomach without injury.
As a result, she did not experience any related symptoms such as abdominal pain, swallowing difficulties, or nausea.
‘Foreign body ingestion is an under-recognized hazard in adults, especially in the elderly where it may lead to significant morbidity and even mortality,’ the medical team said. ‘A prior study estimated that 1,500 individuals in the United States die annually from this phenomenon.’
According to a separate study, endoscopic retrieval in adults is required in roughly 20 percent of cases and emergency surgery is necessary in another 1 percent of cases.
