Clinics in diagnostic imaging (142)

Kumar S, Srinivasan S, Peh WC
Correspondence: Prof Wilfred CG Peh, wilfred.peh@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
A 58-year-old man presented to the emergency department with sudden pain and odynophagia after drinking water. The patient thought that part of his lower denture may have fallen into his throat. There was moderate tenderness over the lower anterior neck. Radiographs of the neck were normal. Computed tomography showed an impacted partial denture in the upper oesophagus, which was removed by rigid endoscopy. Recheck endoscopy showed a superficial mucosal laceration at 18 cm. Ingestion of dental prostheses is common among the elderly population. The role of imaging in the early detection of ingested foreign bodies, particularly nonradio-opaque ones, is discussed.

Keywords: dentures, foreign body, impacted dentures, oesophageal obstruction, oesophagus
Singapore Med J 2012; 53(10): 690–693