An Illinois man accidentally inhaled a drill bit while getting a cavity filled, WISN reported Monday.
Tom Joszi, 60, said he unintentionally inhaled the one-inch drill bit, which wound up becoming deeply lodged in his lung, according to WISN. Joszi was told he’d swallowed the drill bit, but a computed tomography (CT) scan revealed he’d inhaled it, the outlet reported.
Joszi reacted to the incident, explaining that he didn’t “really even feel it going down.” “All I felt was a cough,” he told WISN.
The incident reportedly occurred when the one-inch drill bit broke off the tooth-hollowing instrument, the New York Post reported. Joszi was transported to Aurora Medical Center as a result of inhaling the drill bit, the outlet also reported. (RELATED: Woman Inserted A Glass Tumbler Inside Her Urethra, Forgot About It For Years)
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The drill bit was removed using a robotic ion catheter, which is designed for early cancer detection, according to the NY Post.
Dr. Abdul Alraiyes, a doctor from Aurora Health Care who specializes in pulmonology, critical care medicine and sleep medicine, oversaw the removal procedure, the New York Post said.
“[The drill bit] was really far down on the right lower lobe of the lung,” the doctor shared, according to the outlet. The drill bit reportedly remained in Joszi’s lung for four days.
Normal scopes were unable to reach the drill bit due to its location, the Associated Press reported. If Alraiyes hadn’t been able to safely remove the drill bit, then he said he would’ve needed to remove part of Joszi’s lung, according to the outlet.
Joszi was thankful that the drill bit was able to be removed safely.
“I was never so happy as when I opened my eyes, and I saw [Dr. Alraiyes] with a smile under that mask shaking a little plastic container with the tool in it,” Joszi explained, according to the AP. He now reportedly displays the drill bit on a shelf in his home, the outlet said.