Patient Escapes Serious Injury After Dentist’s Mishap

Dentistry Today

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Carmel Medical Center Doctors in Haifa, Israel never encountered what they saw recently.

A 5-cm metal dental prosthesis bridge was discovered in the lungs of Haifa woman after she was undergoing treatment from a dentist. The object had fallen into her trachea and the dentist told her she had most likely swallowed it and it would come out at the other end of her gastrointestinal system without a problem.

At Carmel Medical Center, however, the doctors didn’t think the problem was as minor as the dentist said it was. The object caused an infection in her lung and was on the verge of producing a hole in the lung. Thankfully for the woman, the bridge and metal bolt were removed from her body using a bronchoscope and an ultrasound scanner.

The problem was discovered because the patient had a coughing problem recently and could not figure out why. She explained the situation to her doctor, who then decided it was a good idea for the patient to have a chest x-ray. The results were clear, showing the object in her body. The doctor then sent her to the emergency room.

A surgical team was necessary to perform the procedure. The doctors had seen other types of strange objects in a person’s lung but never anything like this.

After having the object removed, the patient is now doing fine and will be released from the hospital soon.