Ingested foreign body associated with tooth extraction: Report of a case

Aspiration and ingestion of teeth, dental prostheses and other foreign bodies in maxillofacial injuries is a known complication necessitating prompt recognition and early treatment to minimize potentially serious and, sometimes, even fatal consequences. However, an aspirated or ingested foreign body does not always produce untoward affects and may be overlooked when no acute respiratory distress is evident or multiple life-threatening injuries are present. Here, we report a case in its presentation; the patient underwent extraction of a left upper third molar. After extraction, alveolar irrigation was performed with syringe, needle and sterile saline. the patient ingested the irrigation needle. The patient was properly referred to the emergency room of the hospital of Santa Fé do Sul and referred to the care of the general surgeon, who removed the needle with endoscopic removal under sedation. Clinicians must be aware that the instrument used for dental treatment are mostly small and there is a risk of these falling into the oropharynx and being swallowed or inhaled. The paper also emphasizes that attention to the potentially serious consequences and to offer guidance on management.

Laparoscopic Retrieval of Ingested Foreign Body

Foreign body ingestion is one of the most common presenting complaints in the emergency room. Psychiatric patients that present with an unusual ingested object are frequently associated with the intention of suicide, especially if they have a history of recurrent foreign body ingestion. Radiographic films help in locating the site and predicting the complications. The best method of object retrieval is dependent on many factors and decisions made for the best of patient safety to minimize expected complications. This is a case report of a patient who presented with unusual foreign body ingestion.

Clinical Approaches to Migrating Ingested Foreign Bodies in the Neck

This report presents 2 unusual cases along with a review of the current literature. Further, it aims to propose an algorithm for the initial surgical management of migrating ingested foreign bodies, focusing on the use of fluoroscopy, rigid laryngopharyngoscopy, and an external surgical approach. A 42-year-old man presented with progressive odynophagia after swallowing a fish bone 20 days previously, and a 60-year-old woman presented with a painful enlarging mass over the left lower neck for 1 month. The first case involved a horizontally oriented pharyngeal fish bone with a portion in the neck, which was removed under fluoroscopic guidance and rigid laryngopharyngoscopy in succession. In the second case, there was an extraluminal fish bone that had migrated into the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which was retrieved through cervical incision. All foreign bodies were removed without complications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the second report of fluoroscopy-guided ingested foreign body retrieval and the first one with a proposed algorithm for the management of migrating ingested foreign body in the neck. The location and orientation of migrating ingested foreign bodies as well as their relation to structures in the neck are important factors in determining the surgical approach.