Amongst the unusual cases that I have seen during my medical practice is one associated with a 30 year old female patient who came to my practice one afternoon in 1990 complaining of early morning halitosis and sensation of bad breath (alitosis) . The patients anxiety regarding her bad breath, which according to her had its origins in the stomach, was noticeable during my initial interview with her. A fiber-optic endoscopic examination was performed (the images are of a lower resolution than present day video-endoscopy images) and much to my surprise a snake-like foreign body was found.

See images and Videos.

Examination was performed with an older endoscope, rendering a lower resolution than present day state of the art video-endoscopes. Image of a snake-like foreign body in the stomach of a 30 year old woman.

Note the shape of a snake.

The central hole simulates an eye.

One extreme of the foreign body extends into the region of the duodenal bulb. One can identify the multiple bristles as belonging to a common toothbrush, that had been lodged inside the stomach for over two years.