NEW DELHI: Doctors at Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram Hospital have successfully removed a denture lodged deep inside a man’s food pipe using an advanced endoscopic procedure involving a laser cutter, helping the patient avoid the need for surgery.
According to the doctors, the patient was brought to the hospital with severe respiratory distress, throat pain, and difficulty swallowing after he accidentally ingested his denture.
The denture eventually became lodged just below the junction of the food pipe and windpipe in the upper oesophagus, causing significant chest discomfort, they said.
Subsequent imaging studies confirmed that the dental prosthesis was firmly stuck at a delicate point in the food pipe, where its sharp metallic clasps posed a high risk of tearing the oesophageal lining.
Describing the case as extremely challenging, Anil Arora, Chairman, Institute of Liver, Gastroenterology and Pancreaticobiliary Sciences, said conventional removal methods carried a substantial risk of injury in this case.
After initial attempts using conventional forceps proved unsuccessful, the medical team decided to adopt an alternative endoscopic approach.
After the successful procedure, the patient recovered.