An 81-year-old man from Peru who accidentally swallowed his dentures during an epileptic episode was saved by a medical team that successfully removed the object from his throat.
Sabogal Hospital head and neck surgeon Raul Maurtua reported that the patient presented with pain and breathing difficulties for four days before going to a hospital in his local community back in December, because he thought he had expelled the denture during the epileptic episode.
However, an x-ray taken at the hospital revealed that the denture was lodged in his throat.
The patient was then transferred to the Sabogal Hospital - located in the Lima region - and was treated to remove the foreign body.
"In this case, what was decided was to intubate the patient with a very thin tube to secure the airway and then the gastroenterologist tried to remove, to extract the foreign body endoscopically," Dr Maurtua said.
The elderly man was discharged several days after the procedure.
