Artificial dentures removed from 67-year-old man's stomach

By Shalini Bharadwaj
New Delhi [India], August 13 : In a shocking incident, a 67-year-old man had to undergo surgery at a private hospital in Delhi to remove an artificial denture he had accidentally swallowed while eating.
A team of doctors led by Dr Shubham Vatsya, Director - Gastroenterology and Hepatobiliary Sciences, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj, assessed the case and removed the denture via multiple endoscopy procedures, where the denture was pushed inside the stomach and retrieved outside the body with the help of a Roth net, a device used to remove foreign objects from the body. This entire procedure took 15 minutes, and the patient was discharged the same day in a stable condition.
Upon admission to the hospital, the patient had immense pain in his throat and the middle of his chest. During examination, it was found that the denture was stuck in the patient's stomach, with injuries and bleeding in his food pipe and stomach area. The team of doctors meticulously removed the denture and saved the patient's life. Any delay in diagnosis and removal of the denture could have led to multiple life-threatening situations and could also have proved fatal.
Dr Shubham Vatsya said, "The denture was 15 cm in circumference and due to its size, it was difficult to remove it. However, the procedure was conducted under intravenous sedation, and we removed the denture via multiple gastrointestinal endoscopy (a procedure to diagnose and treat problems in the upper gastrointestinal tract), wherein the denture was pushed inside the stomach and retrieved outside the body with the help of Roth net (a device used to remove foreign objects from the body)."
"The patient was discharged the very same day and is currently doing well. Had the denture been not removed on time, it could have led to multiple life-threatening situations - such as stomach or intestinal perforation which could have been fatal," Vatsya said.
Dr Gurvinder Kaur, Facility Director, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj explained the challenges, "This was a challenging case, considering a serious accident involving an elderly man. However, the timely intervention and clinical expertise of Dr Shubham Vatsya and his team saved the man's life. Our doctors at Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj have the best of experience and expertise to handle challenging cases. The hospital is well-equipped with experienced clinicians and advanced technologies for accuracy in diagnosis and treatment, leading to quality patient outcomes."