Saraswathi Lakkasani, MD1, Devna Lakkasani, 2 1Chippenham Hospital, Glen Allen, VA; 2Deep Run High School, Glen Allen, VA Introduction: Dentures are used for cosmetic purposes and to restore the function of missing teeth. Accidentally swallowed dentures can lead to severe complications in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, early detection and effective therapeutic management are important. We are reporting a case of accidentally swallowed partial dentures with normal x-ray.
Case Description/
Methods: A 66yr old female with past medical history of Pre-Diabetes, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia presented with complaint of accidentally swallowing partial denture while taking her pills two hours ago complaining of severe pain in the chest. Patient (Pt) denies any drooling of saliva,cough,vomiting or choking sensation. The pt described the denture as thumb size with one artificial tooth on it but no metal in the prosthesis.Vitals are normal. Eelectrocardiogram is normal. Chest and neck soft tissue x-rays are read as within normal limits. Pt is in no respiratory distress. Pt received Glucagon in the emergency department with no relief of chest pain. Even though there are no symptoms of esophageal obstruction and no radiological abnormalities, we performed emergency endoscopy with high suspicion of complicated impacted foreign body. Emergency upper endoscopy performed within four hours of accidental ingestion of foreign body. Endoscopy showed Impacted partial denture which is got stuck to the esophageal wall of mid esophagus and on manipuation with Rat- toothed forceps the denture got dislodged into the lumen and later it is carefully extracted outside. On post removal examination there is deep eroded wall of the esophagus which would have perforated if left for longer duration. Later the pt was discharged home in a stable condition.
Discussion: The partial dentures can get impacted into the walls of the esophagus and can cause severe complications if left for long time and normal radiographic imaging can not rule out impending complications with radio non-opaque foreign body. It is always recommended to do emergency endoscopy and early removal of dentures to avoid severe complications as in this patient.
Figure: Endoscopic view of the dentures in esophagus
Figure: Partial Denture after removal
Disclosures: Saraswathi Lakkasani indicated no relevant financial relationships. Devna Lakkasani indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Saraswathi Lakkasani, MD1, Devna Lakkasani, 2. P0722 - Early Removal of Impacted Partial Dentures to Avoid Esophageal Perforation With Normal Radiography, ACG 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Phoenix, AZ: American College of Gastroenterology.
