Cervical Oesophagotomy and Removal of an Impacted Oesophageal Denture: Case Report and Literature Review

We present the case of a 46-year old man with a two-year history of losing his denture presenting with cachexia and a two-month history of dysphagia to both liquids and solids associated with odynophagia. Review at the ENT department where a diagnostic rigid oesophagoscopy was done under general anaesthesia showed a denture impacted to the wall of the oesophagus at 17 cm from the incisor. Attempts at retrieval were unsuccessful as the denture was deeply embedded in the oesophageal wall and bled easily on attempted removal. He subsequently underwent a 2-stage surgical management approach by the cardiothoracic surgical team. Patient first underwent nutritional rehabilitation for a month through a created feeding gastrostomy tube via a limited midline laparotomy. He then had a open cervical oesophagotomy and removal of the denture. Currently doing well six months after surgery and tolerating normal oral diet.