Berhampur: Doctors at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur successfully removed a 23-centimetre teeth-cleaning twig (dantakathi) lodged in the food pipe of a 70-year-old man. The surgery was conducted under the leadership of Dr. Sanjit Kumar Mishra, Head of the ENT Department.

The patient, identified as Kamaraju Nayak from Natanga village in Belaguntha block of Ganjam district, had accidentally swallowed the twig last Wednesday while brushing his teeth. Initially, his family members did not believe him. However, when he began facing difficulty in eating and performing daily activities, they took him to Bhanjanagar hospital.

For nearly a week, Nayak survived only on liquid food as he could not swallow solid meals. When doctors at Bhanjanagar failed to treat him, his family admitted him to MKCG Hospital’s ENT department on Tuesday.

Under Dr. Mishra’s direct supervision, necessary tests confirmed the presence of the toothbrush stick in his food pipe. On Wednesday morning, a team comprising Dr. Sarita Das, Dr. Prabir Keshari Pradhan, Dr. Swati Swaroop, Dr. Sarita Marandi, along with anesthesiologists Dr. Bipin Mallik and Dr. Anup Harichandan, conducted an hour-long surgery using the oesophagoscope method and successfully removed the stick.

According to hospital sources, the patient is now stable and under observation.