Going for a filling, the man inhaled the dental drill into his lungs

The incident happened a few weeks ago, when Mr. Tom Jozsi, 60, in the state of Illinois (USA) left fillings. During the process of cleaning a cavity in the tooth, the dentist accidentally dropped the dental drill into his mouth, according to the newspaper People (America).

Mr. Tom Jozsi in the US accidentally inhaled the dental drill into his lungs while filling his teeth illustration: SHUTTERSTOCK

When examining, the dentist did not detect the drill bit. The dental clinic then informed Mr. Jozsi that he had swallowed the drill in his stomach. This raises the risk that the sharp tip of the drill could pierce the intestines and cause an infection.

“I went to the dentist and the next thing I was told I had swallowed the drill,” Mr. Jozsi said.

He was taken to Aurora-Kenosha Medical Center, in Wisconsin (USA) for treatment. CT scan results showed that Mr. Jozsi did not swallow but inhaled the drill into his lungs. The length of the metal drill bit is 2 cm.

“I didn’t even really feel the drill going down the windpipe. All I felt was a cough,” he added.

At first, pulmonologists tried to remove the dental drill endoscopically. However, this attempt was unsuccessful because the drill was located too deep near the base of the lung.

At this time, Mr. Jozsi began to worry, especially when the doctor informed that if he did not remove the drill in time, the drill would cause an infection. Dental drills have been exposed to a lot of bacteria in the mouth. Certain types of bacteria are capable of causing severe infections and the formation of pus-filled sacs in the lungs. As a result, part of a lung may be removed, said Dr. Abdul Hamid Alraiyes, who directly treated Mr. Jozsi.

Therefore, in cases like Mr. Jozsi, the drill must be removed as soon as possible. When detecting the man started hemoptisiDoctors immediately planned intensive surgery for the patient.

Fortunately, Dr. Alraiyes and his team used an innovative and successful method. They use endoscope robot bronchi, the device is often used to detect small lung cancer nodules, to remove the drill bit. After 90 minutes of effort, the drill was successfully removed.

Currently, Mr. Jozsi has fully recovered. With the dental drill, he kept it as a souvenir and kept it on his shelf, according to People.