A denture mishap prompts call for more caution before surgery

The painful case of a 72-year-old man has physicians recommending removing dentures before surgery. A new BMJ report details how the man went into a U.K. hospital to have a harmless abdominal lump removed, and, unbeknownst to medical staff, had his dentures get stuck in his throat during the surgery. The man, who was on anesthesia during the operation, went home to return six days later complaining of bleeding and difficulty eating solid food. Imaging of the man’s chest and throat revealed the stuck dentures, which had caused internal swelling and blistering. But the saga didn’t end there: Doctors performed an emergency surgery to remove the dentures, but complications from having them in his throat meant the man came back to the hospital several more times and eventually needed a blood transfusion.