A 44-year-old woman in Taiwan had apparently swallowed an 18cm toothbrush while brushing her teeth in a hurry, according to CTS Taiwan.
She then waited 7 hours, until she finished work, before deciding to visit the hospital to seek medical attention.
The 44-year-old woman from Pingtung was reportedly “very tired from the previous day, and was in a hurry to get to work”
She had felt “uncomfortable” after swallowing the toothbrush, but decided to go to work first before heading to the hospital after ending work 7 hours later.
Dr Cai Yuanrong, who attended to the woman at the hospital, said that he asked her if she was sure that she swallowed an 18cm toothbrush.
Her toothbrush was not seen in x-ray images but an endoscopy was performed and the toothbrush was seen lodged in her esophagus. The tissues around it were also inflamed and irritated.
Dr Cai then managed to remove the toothbrush with a retrieval device and the woman didn’t require any surgery.
Had the toothbrush gotten into her intestines, she could have possible had her intestines ruptured, said Dr Cai.
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