Dental braces wire found in bowels


Thursday, 10 August, 2017

Dental braces wire found in bowels

In a more unusual day for doctors, a West Australian woman was found to have wire from a dental brace in her bowel — 10 years after wearing braces.

Suffering from bad stomach pain for two days, the 30-year-old was admitted to hospital where a scan revealed the unusual culprit. According to online journal BMJ Case Reports, the wire had pierced her small bowel in several places, causing the intestine to twist around on itself, a condition known as volvulus.

The woman said that she had not worn a dental brace for a decade, and didn’t remember having swallowed the wire or having lost it.

The woman underwent emergency surgery and the wire was removed. She has made a full recovery with no further complications.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/ruigsantos

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