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New Delhi, June 17, 2025:
In a rare and possibly fatal emergency in the early hours of 24th May, a 37-year-old female was admitted to Manipal Hospital Mukundapur, part of Manipal Hospitals – Eastern India’s one of the largest hospital chains at 2:00 AM with accidental swallowing of a toothbrush. Dr. Sanjoy Basu, Senior Consultant – Gastroenterology, Manipal Hospital – Mukundapur, who performed the emergency procedure timely with his team, extracted the object from the stomach of the patient through a high-risk endoscopic procedure.
She was experiencing breathlessness and chest pain, prompting immediate medical evaluation. Although a chest X-ray was done as per standard emergency protocol, the plastic toothbrush was not visible on the scan. Dr. Basu reached the hospital at 3:00 AM and conducted an emergency upper GI endoscopy, where the toothbrush was found lodged deep in the stomach.
While sharing the details, Dr. Sanjoy Basu said, “This was a high-risk situation. A long foreign object like a toothbrush, if left inside the stomach, can cause serious internal injuries—perforation of the stomach lining, bleeding, or complete obstruction of the digestive tract. Unlike smaller ingested items or cases where objects are stuck in the esophagus, the challenge here was that the toothbrush had traveled all the way down to the stomach. Endoscopically retrieving it from that depth without causing trauma required extreme precision.
At one point, while pulling it out, it got stuck again at the upper food pipe. With controlled manual intervention and careful head extension, we managed to bring it out safely. Each step had to be calculated—we were racing against time to prevent the need for surgery.”
Using a snare inserted through the endoscope, the team carefully maneuvered the toothbrush back up the food pipe. With the patient’s head extended and under strict monitoring, the object was finally removed manually through the mouth. The entire procedure took about 45 minutes and was completed by 5:00 AM. The patient was discharged in stable condition later the same day.
HealthySoch
