Dentures: the life threatening prostheses
Basra Journal of Surgery, Sept 2005 Abstract: In one year period ( March 2004 to March 2005), six edentulous patients ( 5 males and one female) aging 42 to 82 yrs were admitted to the Broncho-Esophagoscopy unit in Sulaimania Teaching Hospital- Kurdistan-Iraq with ingestion or aspiration of dentures or food-related articles. Three patients had ingested dentures. One patient had impaction of denture in his larynx. One patient had ingested a big bulous of meat while the last claimed to have ingested a bone but esophagoscopy was negative. All dentures were partial except one. Partial dentures were all removed successfully by esophagoscopy. The complete denture required thoracotomy and esophagotomy for removal. The outcome was excellent with no mortality.
