Back to bite 7cm piece of wire from a brace is found piercing a woman’s bowels 10 years after she swallowed it

A woman rushed to A&E with agonising stomach pain was found to have a WIRE from a dental brace lodged in her bowels.

The piece of metal was found ten years after the patient's brace was removed.

The unnamed 30-year-old arrived at the emergency department of a hospital in Western Australia complaining of tummy pain that was getting worse.

A case report into her condition reveals she first noticed the pain two days before going to hospital.

Doctors who examined the woman said her stomach was peritonitic.

The condition causes the abdomen to become inflamed and sore to touch, and can lead to vomiting, constipation and a fever.

Medics first thought she may have gallstones blocking the bile duct.

But a CT scan revealed a 7cm "metallic wire-shaped foreign body" that was causing part of the bowel to twist around itself, causing the pain.

The doctors wrote: "The wire penetrated through the small bowel and the small bowel mesentary and to another loop of the mid-small bowel.

"This had formed an axis around which the volvulus (intestine obstruction) developed."

Surgeons operated immediately, removing the piece of wire.

Thankfully, despite the fact the metal had pierced several holes in the patient's intestines, it wasn't necessary to remove any part of her bowel.

The doctors noted the woman had "not worn orthodontic braces for 10 years".

They added: "She did not recall ingesting the wire or having her braces go missing."

The woman made a full recovery with no further complications.

The case is described in the online journal BMJ Case Reports.

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