Journey of a denture through the gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

Foreign-body ingestion and its complications are widely reported and discussed in literature. However, ingested foreign body causing a large-bowel perforation is extremely rare. We present a case of a 49-year-old man who presented to us with complaints of abdominal pain, abdominal distension, fever and obstipation. The patient gave a history of accidental swallowing of his dentures 11 days back. The patient presented with shock in the emergency department and X-ray erect abdomen showed massive air under the diaphragm. The patient was taken for urgent exploratory laparotomy where a sigmoid perforation with ingested denture at the perforation site was found. The perforation was repaired, and a diverting ileostomy was made. The patient had an uneventful post-operative period and was discharged subsequently.

Keywords

• dentures
• foreign body
• perforation
• sigmoid colon