Abstract

Purpose: To describe an unusual case of a denture retained in the oropharynx for one year and highlight current management of airway foreign bodies.
Study design: A case report and brief review of the literature.
Results: A 27 year old man sustained a gunshot wound to the neck and underwent exploratory surgery and
tracheotomy at an outside hospital. Nine months after this injury, he presented to our clinic with dysphagia, aphonia, and tracheotomy dependence. Normal anatomic landmarks were not visible by indirect laryngoscopy and imaging suggested a possible plate-like prosthesis in the oropharynx. Diagnostic direct laryngoscopy revealed a foreign body firmly lodged in the base of tongue and vallecula. Removal of the foreign body revealed a partial denture. Postoperatively, the patient reported that he could not locate the denture after his injury and had obtained a new prosthetic. The missing partial denture was lodged in his oropharynx for one year.
Conclusions: While aspiration or dislodgement of dental appliances is common, this is an interesting case of a young man with a retained denture in his oropharynx for 12 months. During this time, the patient tolerated a near regular diet although swallowing was uncomfortable. Suspicion of a denture foreign body was low in this instance owing to the fact that the patient was young at presentation and did not endorse or disclose the loss of a dental appliance at the time of initial injury.