KENOSHA, Wis. — A routine dental visit sent a Wisconsin man to the hospital when he accidentally inhaled a piece of the dentist’s drill.
Tom Jozsi said he was getting a tooth filled when the dentist told him something had gone wrong. “I was told I swallowed this tool,” Jozsi told WISN. “I didn’t really even feel it going down. All I felt was a cough. When they did the CT scan they realized, you didn’t swallow it. You inhaled it.”
Dr. Abdul Alraiyes said that the drill bit had gone so deep into Jozsi’s lung that normal scopes were unable to reach it, The Associated Press reported. In an attempt to prevent having to remove part of Jozsi’s lung, Dr. Alraiyes opted to use a newer device to reach the object.
“When I saw the CAT scan, and where that object is sitting, it was really far down on the right lower lobe of the lung,” Alraiyes told WISN.
In a video posted to YouTube, Alraiyes shared video showing the medical team using the device to navigate Jozsi’s airway, reach the drill bit, and pull it out safely.
Alraiyes told WISN the device he used was designed for early detection of cancers, such as lung cancer, rather than removing foreign objects.
“I was never so happy as when I opened my eyes, and I saw (Dr. Alraiyes) with a smile under that mask shaking a little plastic container with the tool in it,” Joszi told WISN.
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