A 72-year-old man found himself in a quite unpleasant scenario after having surgery. For eight days, his dentures were lodged in his throat.
The unnamed man had gone in for a simple operation to remove a benign lump from his abdominal wall. After six days had passed, however, he returned because of complications. He’d found blood in his mouth and was experiencing pain and difficulty in swallowing food.
According to the report in the medical journal BMJ Case Reports, the doctors didn’t immediately realize he’d swallowed his dentures.
Apparently, the man was sent home after being prescribed steroids, antibiotics, and mouthwash. The doctors had no idea the man had his three front teeth, attached to a metal plate, stuck in his throat.
They just thought it was inflammation from having a tube in his throat during the surgical procedure. Additionally, they believed he might have a respiratory infection.
With his symptoms worsening, and the inability to swallow any sort of oral medications, the man once again returned to the hospital. He was admitted, though doctors suspected it was simply pneumonia.
Soon, however, doctors found the man had something pressed against his vocal cords. The presence of the foreign body had also caused blistering and swelling internally.
The report later revealed that the retired electrician’s dentures “had been lost during general surgery admission.” That was eight days prior.
Soon, X-rays were taken that confirmed that the semi-circular object lodged in his throat was, in fact, his dentures. The man was then taken in for an emergency surgery in order to remove them.
Six days later, he was discharged.
This isn’t the first time someone has inhaled their dentures during the administration of anesthetics. However, we can all learn an important lesson from this man’s experience. Chiefly, make sure doctors keep track of your dentures.
The report mentioned that there weren’t set guidelines on managing dentures during anesthesia. However, it did note “that leaving dentures in during bag-mask ventilation allows for a better seal during induction.” (That’s during the infusion of anesthesia.) And, for that reason, some hospitals don’t remove them until “immediately before intubation.” The caveat there is that it should be “clearly documented.”
Lesson learned – those dentures need to be documented.
