Lost dentures – don’t let them wreak havoc in the airways

During the May Day holiday, Mr. Du, 27, suddenly choked and coughed violently during breakfast, a time of thunder, after calming down, it was surprising to find that the denture on the left side of his mouth was missing, when it occurred to him that there might be dislodgment during the choking and coughing period, a time was not found. However, after the incident, there were always symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing discomfort. The next day, the patient went to the local hospital to check the chest X-ray, which showed an irregular 1.6×1.0 cm high-density shadow with clear borders next to the right 7th and 8th intercostal space near the cardiac margin, and an upper gastrointestinal tract imaging showed no obvious foreign body in the esophagus, while a high-density shadow in the right lung was considered a bronchial foreign body, and no special treatment was performed. The lung CT showed an annular metallic density shadow in the bronchial cavity, surrounded by radiolucent artifacts, and the localization image showed a ring shape. (After admission, bronchoscopy and microscopic treatment were performed. Under general anesthesia, a rigid mirror was inserted through the mouth and a soft mirror was inserted through the rigid mirror, and a denture foreign body, about 1.5*0.6 cm in size, with irregular shape, rough surface and sharp edges, was seen in the right main distal 6 area, which basically blocked the lumen. There was no active bleeding intraoperatively or postoperatively. The tracheoscopic results showed that the foreign body was clearly a denture, which was treated by tracheoscopic removal. (Central airway octal approach) (A denture foreign body is visible in zone 6) (Denture size about 1.5*0.6cm) (Foreign body forceps sleeve Remove foreign body) Choking often occurs in daily life, usually due to improper diet and water intake, and the resulting aspiration of foreign bodies into the airway can affect the patient’s breathing and may lead to life-threatening conditions in severe cases. The size and shape of the foreign body, the site of entrapment, and the length of time it remains in the airway may all affect the patient’s symptoms. Larger foreign bodies that obstruct the airway may cause significant respiratory distress or even asphyxia, while smaller foreign bodies often enter the bronchial branches and have milder symptoms. The onset of the disease is characterized by cough, sputum, chest pain, fever, hemoptysis, and dyspnea. Foreign body can lead to local bronchial obstruction, longer time can be accompanied by granulation tissue growth, combined with obstructive pneumonia, pulmonary atelectasis, easily confused with pneumonia, lung abscess, lung tumor and tuberculosis, etc.. Experts remind: once a foreign body is sucked into the trachea, there is usually a violent cough, which is a normal physiological reflex, but sometimes it happens to be embedded and difficult to cough out, then you must actively seek medical attention to avoid more serious consequences. We also call on our friends to chew and swallow slowly, maintain good habits, try to avoid choking and foreign body invasion, and protect the respiratory health.