An Illinois man’s trip to the dentist landed him in hospital after he inhaled a drill bit during his visit.
Tom Jozsi, 60, told WISN 12 News that he was undergoing a simple routine procedure when he accidentally took a breath that sent the dentist’s tool deep into his lungs.
“I was at the dentist getting a tooth filled, and then next thing I know I was told I swallowed this tool,” he said of the inch-long bit. “I didn’t really even feel it going down. All I felt was a cough.”
Dr. Abdul Alraiyes, a pulmonary expert who treated Jozsi at the Aurora Medical Center in Kenosha, Wisc., told News Channel 10 that Jozsi likely breathed in the bit when he inhaled just before taking a cough.
Apparently, the bit was so far down in Jozsi’s lungs that it wasn’t visible by regular scope and Jozsi had to undergo a CT scan.
“When I saw the CT scan and where that object is sitting, it was really far down on the right lower lobe of the lung,” Alraiyes said.
It looked like they would have to operate and take part of Jozsi’s lung, but doctors decided to give a new piece of equipment a try first.
The catheter used by Alraiyes’ team is typically used for early detection of lung cancer, but in this case, they were able to insert it into the lung and safely remove the bit, reports People.
“I was never so happy as when I opened my eyes, and I saw him with a smile under that mask shaking a little plastic container with the tool in it,” Jozsi told WISN.
After sitting in his lung for four days, the drill bit is now on display on a shelf in Jozsi’s home.