Endovascular coils mimicking accidental ingestion of a dental-related foreign body in radiographic imaging.

If a foreign body is seen on chest or abdominal radiographs, accidental aspiration or ingestion of a dental-related foreign body may be suspected. This report describes a case in which vascular embolization coils seen on radiography were suspected to represent a swallowed dental prosthesis. A 72-year-old man with a history of endovascular embolization of portosystemic shunt was admitted for mandibular fracture. On hospital day 2, a foreign body was noted on chest radiographs taken to confirm pleural effusion. No foreign body had been evident on radiographs of the same area the previous day. The foreign body was suspected to be a dental prosthesis, but intraoral examination ruled out this possibility, and the foreign body turned out to be metal coils used to embolize the shunt. Dentists and oral surgeons should be aware that medical devices such as vascular embolization coils can produce images similar to a dental-related foreign body on chest or abdominal radiographs, and dental-related foreign body ingestion or aspiration should be considered in the differential diagnosis.