Doctors discover set of dentures lodged in dementia patient’s STOMACH after she misplaced them
Doctors discover dentures in dementia patient’s STOMACH after she misplaced them
An elderly woman who had lost her dentures, only for doctors to discover she had swallowed them.
The demented patient had only mild pain, difficulty swallowing or nausea, but was taken to hospital by her son as a precaution.
Doctors wondered where the lower teeth might have gone and performed a scan on the elderly patient.
A camera was inserted into the woman’s lower digestive system, where the dentures were discovered in her stomach.
The elderly woman was unaware that she had swallowed her missing dentures and did not complain of pain, difficulty swallowing or nausea.
Doctors performed an esophagogastroduodenoscopy to look for the missing denture and discovered it in the patient’s stomach.
The endoscope was then removed and reinserted with a foreign object guard at the tip.
After several failed attempts, the doctors managed to place the hood protector over the prosthesis and grab it with rat-toothed forceps, removing the foreign object from the woman’s stomach.
The procedure took just over two hours and the patient was allowed to go home the following day.
Experts at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas said no significant injuries were caused by the removal of the prosthesis.
The medical team wrote: ‘Dentures are actually one of the most commonly ingested items in adults. Others are bones, chicken or fish and jewellery.’
Doctors added that the woman’s history of dementia, stroke and central nervous system lymphoma made her less aware of the foreign body that got into her stomach.
The medical team inserted an endoscope into the woman’s esophageal sphincter, where the prosthesis was discovered in her stomach.
Doctors attached a hood protector over the dentures and gripped it with rat tongs. After several attempts, the doctors succeeded in removing the prosthesis from the woman’s abdomen without injury.
As a result, she did not experience related symptoms such as abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing or nausea.
“Swallowing a foreign body is a recognized hazard in adults, especially the elderly, where it can lead to significant morbidity and even mortality,” the medical team said. ‘A preliminary study estimated that 1,500 people in the United States die each year from this phenomenon.”
According to a separate studyendoscopic removal in adults is required in about 20 percent of cases and emergency surgery is needed in an additional 1 percent of cases.