Tooth Crown Foreign Body Appendicitis

A plain abdominal radiograph ( fig. 1 ) showed no features of bowel obstruction and a possible foreign body in the right iliac fossa. A computer tomography (CT) scan ( fig. 2, 3 ), performed to rule out a caecal lesion, showed features of appendicitis and confirmed a foreign body in the appendix lumen. A 75-year-old man presented with a 3-day history of worsening right iliac fossa pain. He had inadvertently swallowed his acrylic tooth crown 10 days previously. Clinical examination revealed he was pyrexial (38.1), tachycardic and had features of localized peritonitis in the right iliac fossa. Published online: January 21, 2009