[5670505]
My son, (b)(6), finished orthodontic treatment about 3 years ago, and was fitted with a small orthodontic wire, glued to the back of his front teeth, in order to prevent the teeth from migrating back to the original space. This was done by a very professional orthodontist, who uses only fda-approved materials and devices. A few days ago he was admitted to the hospital with extreme abdominal pain. Sonogram and ct imaging could not pick up anything, but his blood work indicated a severe infection. A second ct scan, done 4 days later, revealed a life-threatening puncture and infection of the stomach wall. During surgery, a thin wire - identified as an orthodontic wire, was pulled out: it had punctured the whole stomach wall - side to side. He is now hospitalized, getting 5 types of antibiotics (iv, obviously - he can't use his digestive system yet). I don't know who to contact in order to prevent this from happening to someone else, so i'm writing to you. I have the wire extracted from his stomach, and the orthodontist confirmed this was the wire used in his mouth. I can also supply ct images of the wire stuck in the stomach wall.
Patient Sequence No: 1, Text Type: D, B5