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Watch: Surgeons remove entire toothbrush from woman's stomach after she 'accidentally' swallowed it

Surgeons found themselves removing a TOOTHBRUSH from a woman’s stomach after she apparently accidentally swallowed it while cleaning her teeth.

Medics found the plastic toothbrush in the 50-year-old’s stomach after her daughter took her to the doctor in India claiming she had accidentally swallowed it.

She had apparently felt “no discomfort” and when the brush didn’t shop on up x-rays, doctors thought she was either lying or “a psychiatric patient”.

But when they carried out an endoscopy they found it lodged in her stomach.

<em>Surgeons found the brush wedged in the woman’s stomach (Picture: SWNS)</em>
Surgeons found the brush wedged in the woman’s stomach (Picture: SWNS)

Dr Isaac Syiem, senior surgeon at Shillong Civil Hospital, said: “On January 25, a 50-year-old lady was brought by her daughter to me telling that she had accidentally swallowed a toothbrush.

“As she was perfectly fine showing no sign of distress or pain, I initially thought that she was lying or a psychiatric patient. However, she turned out to be a normal patient.

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Despite his doubts, when he carried out an endoscopy, it revealed the toothbrush lodged in the woman’s stomach.

“The handle part was towards the mouth end, while the brush part was towards the stomach”, he said.

<em>Surgeons spent 45 minutes trying various methods to remove the toothbrush and finally got it out (Picture: SWNS)</em>
Surgeons spent 45 minutes trying various methods to remove the toothbrush and finally got it out (Picture: SWNS)

He said they tried several times to pull the brush out but it proved a challenge, taking 45 minutes before they could finally manage to retrieve it.

“After some struggle, finally, I got hold of the toothbrush by using loop snare and pulled it out in one whole piece.

“It took nearly 45 minutes to retrieve the brush without causing any internal injuries to the patient.

“Half an hour after the brush was removed, we gave the patient to drink water, and as she showed no signs of discomfort or pain, we discharged her on the same day.

“Had she not been brought in for medical help, there were possibilities that the situation could have taken a turn for the worse for her.”