Thoracoscopic retrieval of a "smiling" foreign body from the proximal esophagus: an impacted denture.
BACKGROUND
The esophagus is a common site for foreign bodies (FBs) because of areas of physiologic narrowing. Dentures pose special problems, especially if they are impacted. We present a case of a "smiling" foreign body in the proximal esophagus.


METHODS
The patient was an 80-year-old man with a history of dysphagia and swallowed dentures. Thoracoscopic removal was performed successfully as an endoscopic removal had failed and the patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery. He was discharged on the seventh postoperative day.


CONCLUSIONS
Coins are the most commonly ingested FBs. Swallowing of dentures is found mostly in elderly patients. If endoscopic removal is not possible, then a minimally invasive surgery is an alternative. Swallowing of dentures is rare, and its thoracoscopic removal has not been reported so far. Using thoracoscopy, all the benefits of a minimally invasive surgery can be used.


CONCLUSIONS
Minimally invasive techniques have been found to be very useful in the removal of intraluminal FBs, especially when conservative measures fail. Prevention of such incidents should be emphasized.
GEM Hospital, Ramnathapuram, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Chinnusamy
C
Palanivelu
Muthukumaran
M
Rangarajan
Ramakrishnan
R
Parthasarathi
Palaniswamy
P
Senthilnathan
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003679:Deglutition; D003778:Dentures; D004947:Esophagus / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000601:surgery*; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013906:Thoracoscopy / Q000379:methods*