Mombasa toothbrush man undergoes 45-min operation

It was joy and relief on Friday after doctors at the Coast General Hospital successfully removed a toothbrush lodged inside the body of a man.

David Charo, from Ganze, Kilifi County, had the toothbrush removed through an endoscopic procedure on Friday.

34-year-old Charo says he is relieved and promises to be more careful in the future when brushing his teeth.

The father of two says the toothbrush just slipped and ended up in his body maintaining that he was not talking or playing around when the incident occurred.

“Nilikuwa najitayarisha kupiga mswaki ndio nikunywa chai alafu nianze safari yangu ya kuja Mombasa. Kupiga mswaki hivi, kwa bahati mbaya ule mswaki ukateleza na ukaingia ndani (I was preparing to brush my teeth, take breakfast and start my journey to Mombasa. When I started brushing is when the toothbrush accidentally slid into my stomach),” he said after the operation.

He has not had any solid foods for the past five days and he will still have to contend with liquids such as milk, porridge and water for a little longer, until his throat fully heals.

Endoscopy, the procedure that he underwent, does not involve surgery, but rather encompasses a variety of techniques employed through the gastroscope for grasping foreign bodies, manipulating them, and removing them while protecting the esophagus and trachea.

If endoscopy had not worked for Charo, doctors at the Mombasa-based hospital were going to perform surgery as a second option.

Charo’s family were earlier worried that he was in danger as he could not eat but have since thanked the hospital for coming to his rescue and also urged others to be careful when brushing their teeth.