Chinese man, 64, finds toothbrush he swallowed at age 12 stuck in intestine, needs surgery

www.scmp.com ^ | June 25, 2025 | Fran Lu

[Red Badger]

Doctors take 80 minutes to remove 17cm dental implement from inside man who thought foreign object would ‘dissolve’ by itself

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A 64-year-old Chinese man who felt a strange sensation in his stomach and went to the doctor was shocked to discover that a toothbrush had been stuck in his intestines for 52 years.

The man, surnamed Yang, from eastern China’s Anhui province, said he remembered swallowing it at the age of 12 and was too scared to tell his parents about it.

Yang said he thought the toothbrush would dissolve on its own and had not felt anything untoward until recently.

Hospital doctors checked his digestive system and found the toothbrush stuck in his small intestine.

They performed endoscopic surgery on him and took the rogue 17-cm dental implement out of his body in 80 minutes.

Despite the toothbrush being inside his body for many years, the man said he had not felt anything untoward until recently. Photo: Handout It was one of the longest items the hospital had taken out of a patient’s digestive system in the past three years.

[Red Badger]

THE WINNER OF THE "TOOTHBRUSH CLALLENGE"!.......................

[Magnum44]

[Alas Babylon!]

In China, toothbrush come with eggroll.

[gundog]

Whst he needs is a new toothbrush.

[MayflowerMadam]

Damn! I believe that if I were to swallow a cherry pit, I’d know it the next day.

And how can you possibly swallow a whole toothbrush?

[Red Badger]

Probably has no teeth..................

[larrytown]

This is why you tie the lanyard to the toothbrush - use the ‘dummy string’!

[Red Badger]

Maybe he was practicing for something else..................

[Antihero101607]

How do you swallow a nearly 7” toothbrush? How long was it in his stomach before it worked its way into the intestines? It looks like it’s still pretty rigid.

[gundog]

The n he won’t be tempted to put the new toothbrush in his mouth.

[Red Badger]

😫.....................

[mikey_hates_everything]

They had toothbrushes in China in 1973? I’ll bet I know which toothpaste he used…

[telescope115]

Oh, YUCK!

[Red Badger]

He was just 12 on top of that!...............

[sgt_lau]

Let me guess: it smells like sh#t?

[Bobbyvotes]

My brother in law swallowed his partial dentures !! That must be painful next day ??

[Bobbyvotes]

Probably a kids tooth brush 3” long.

[C210N]

I have a couple of those! When I saw them being sold in a store in Taipei around 1985, I bought some as a novelty souvenir.

In 1989 it was rebranded to Darlie, after public pressure on Colgate which took a stake in the company in 1985.

Little did I know back in 1985 that the tubes I bought would be shortly "end of lifed" as a product.

Darlie is still sold today.

[Islander7]

Mr. Nogopoo is recovering at home.

[Red Badger]

Did they let him keep the toothbrush?.............