Doctors found this inside man's lungs after he complained of a persistent cough

This man made a fashion choice that almost cost him his life. In the United States, a man who had had grillz (a type of cosmetic dental prosthesis, particularly popular in the hip-hop world) swallowed them during an epileptic attack.

Unfortunately, the man did not swallow his silver teeth, and poop them out, as one would expect. They actually ended up inside his lungs, which severely impaired his breathing for months.

The man went to the doctors for his violent cough

When the story broke out last year, the identity of the man had not been released, but his case was published in the Cureus Medical Journal.

According to the medical journal, the young man was 22 at the time and he suffers from epilepsy. He has about one seizure a week, and the aftermath of one them was disastrous.

The man in question, reportedly a resident of Wisconsin, USA, indicated that he had been coughing for several months, and the coughing was so persistent that the doctors did a more thorough examination. They noticed that an object of almost 4 cm was lodged inside his lungs.

A very delicate extraction

The man accidentally swallowed his silver-plated dentures during a seizure and it was therefore urgent to remove the grillz. But as these false teeth are pointy and sharp, the operation proved to be delicate. The doctors indeed indicated:

Our primary concern was vocal cord injury during extraction. Therefore, we considered several extraction modalities, including flexible bronchoscopy, rigid bronchoscopy, and, as a last resort, cardiothoracic surgery.

After much discussion, we agreed on a first attempt with a flexible bronchoscope.

After several attempts, surgeons were finally able to remove the denture, and the patient was able to go home after receiving light treatment.

This article has been translated from Gentside FR.

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Sources used:

Jaun News: Man, 22, gets dentures stuck near lung after accidentally swallowing them

Cureus Medical Journal: Ex-aspirated: A Case of Dental Product Aspiration With Retrieval Methodology and Current Review

DailyMail: Tough grill to swallow! Epileptic man, 22, has emergency operation to remove silver-plated dentures from his LUNG after swallowing them down the wrong pipe during a seizure