A bizarre incident occurred in Arunachal Pradesh when a doctor removed a toothbrush from a man's stomach after he accidentally swallowed it while brushing. On September 15, the 39-year-old man was trying to clean the back of his throat when it accidentally slipped and he ended up swallowing it.m
The 19-centimetre long toothbrush was removed within 24 hours as doctors feared that leaving it any longer could be fatal for the patient.
The resident of Roing Lower Dibang Valley rushed to a nearby clinic from where he was referred to Bakin Pertin General Hospital. When the doctors conducted an X-ray and further tests, they could not locate the brush in the man's oesophagus.
'It took 30- 35 mins to operate upon him & take the toothbrush out from his abdomen'
Another surgeon Dr Bomni Tayeng was consulted who said that the brush must have entered the stomach. He suggested that the patient get admitted to the hospital for laparotomy test. The patient did not feel any pain after swallowing the brush and experienced only minor discomfort in his upper abdomen.
The medics conducted a minor surgery under general anaesthesia to remove the brush. "It took about 30- 35 minutes to operate upon him and take the toothbrush out from his abdomen," Tayeng was quoted as saying by Arunachal 24. Tayeng said that he was also surprised how someone could swallow a whole toothbrush.
The patient reportedly started taking oral fluids a day after the surgery. He was discharged from the hospital on Monday.
