Published On : Mon, Dec 26th, 2016

Getwell docs remove dental drill from patient’s lung

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Nagpur: For those who already dread going to the dentist, it’s the stuff of nightmares.

A patient ended up with part of a dentist’s drill in the right lung during a procedure in a Nagpur rural hospital. However, doctors at the Getwell Hospital in city not only removed the sharp stuff from the patient’s lung but also saved the patient’s life.

A small sharp dental drill used for Root Canal Treatment got accidentally aspirated into bronchus of a patient during treatment at a rural dental clinic. The patient came to Chest Department with X Ray showing drill precariously placed inside Right side of the airway of the lung .The patient was immediately taken to the bronchoscopy suite where Dr Deepak Muthreja, Interventional Bronchoscopist of Chest Department at Getwell Hospital assisted by Dr Anil Sontakke, Pulmonologist did Video Bronchoscopy and found the sharp drill impinged at Right Main Bronchus Intermedius. With help of a rat tooth forcep the drill was pulled back from the lung airways and while being brought up to throat went inside stomach as patient in panic did swallowing moment resulting in loosening grip of rat tooth forcep. Dr Abhiram Paranjpe, Gastroenterologist immediately did Gastroscopy and removed it from the stomach through dormia basket and everybody present heaved sigh of relief.

Dr Rajesh Swarnakar , Chief Pulmonologist and Director of Getwell Hospital said that while many foreign bodies lodged in airways has been removed previously like custard apple seed , beetle nut , whistle, pen caps , ground nut etc this was unusual as the entire sharp dental drill of size of a small nail had got stuck inside the lung . Patient was lucky to escape without any complication as the sharp drill had potential to tear through airways and major vessels lying by side which could have caused catastrophe. Dr Swarnakar emphasized need of availability of multi specialty team work for such complex procedure which requires team work and was well executed at Getwell Hospital. Patient since then has been discharged and doing well.