Missing Toothbrush Found 52 Years Later After Man Feels Strange Sensation
A 64-year-old man from Anhui, China, named Yang, recently made headlines after visiting a doctor due to unusual stomach discomfort. An examination revealed a hard-to-believe medical issue: a 17 cm toothbrush had been lodged in his small intestine for 52 years since he accidentally swallowed it at the age of 12.At that time, he was too frightened to tell his parents and assumed it would dissolve on its own. Remarkably,the toothbrush caused him no critically importent issues until recently,prompting his visit to the hospital. Doctors successfully removed the toothbrush in a little over an hour during endoscopic surgery. The incident underlines the potential dangers of swallowing foreign objects, as highlighted by a similar case in 2017 involving a woman in Fujian Province who swallowed multiple toothbrushes, necessitating severe medical intervention.
00Most of us have accidentally swallowed some toothpaste and lived to tell about it.
But a toothbrush?
Evidently, that’s what happened to a 64-year-old man in China’s Anhui province, according to the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.
The man, whose surname is Yang, visited a doctor after reportedly feeling something strange in his stomach.
After examining Yang’s digestive system, doctors made a shocking discovery: a 17 cm toothbrush lodged in his small intestine.
Yang was reportedly 12 years old when he swallowed it, but he was too afraid to tell his parents.
He figured it would likely dissolve on its own.
For 52 years, the toothbrush remained lodged in Yang’s digestive system in such a way that it never bothered him, until recently.
Doctors performed endoscopic surgery on Yang and had the toothbrush out in about an hour and 20 minutes.
BEIJING: A 64-year-old man from Anhui province was shocked to learn that a toothbrush had been lodged in his small intestine since he accidentally swallowed it at age 12, the South China Morning Post reported.
Full story:https://t.co/IHUqqOGSpN pic.twitter.com/JHF06trt3p
— Daily Express Malaysia (@DailyExpress_MY) June 25, 2025
One doctor, surnamed Zhou, said that something like a toothbrush in the intestines could have fatally punctured the inner tissue.
Swallowing just one toothbrush would likely be an unforgettable experience for anyone, but one woman in China’s Fujian Province reportedly swallowed seven, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported in 2017.
Xiao Yun, 31, had reportedly swallowed the toothbrushes — each about 8 inches long — after developing an eating disorder.
Her parents were reportedly pressuring her to get married because she was getting “too old,” per the Mail.
The stress caused her to grow increasingly unstable.
One day, Yun’s parents began to notice her eating strange objects: bracelets, rubber bands, buttons, and so forth.
Otherwise, she appeared fine, so her parents did not take her to a doctor.
But like the man who had the toothbrush in his small intestine, Yun began experiencing abdominal pain and went to the hospital.
Doctors said her intestines were swollen and inflamed.
Some of the toothbrushes had penetrated her gastrointestinal wall, poking her liver.
Yun underwent numerous operations, and doctors even had to remove some of her intestines.
“Pica disorder, an appetite for non-edible substances, can be a sign of psychological problems. Patients tend to suffer the illness when they release stress from an emotion breakdown,” Dr. Chen Xianqiang said to Yun’s parents.
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