Chipped tooth during surgery?

  • I had eye surgery two weeks ago under general anesthetic. When I woke up my front tooth was a little chipped. How in the world could that have happened
  • Hard to say...I would ask your dr. What sort of eye sx did you have. Did they place an endotracheal tube (did they need a laryngeal scope to place it), did you have a rough recovery. There are many different factors that could have happened...your mouth is close to your eye. There are several things i could thing off...dropping an intrument (i know it sounds shocking..but i'm a vet and i drop insturments all the time...but usually they end up on the floor), if they used a laryngeal scope to place an ET tube and you chomped down as a response..if you were too light etc...I would just ask my dr..not accusational. It is a minor thing. Lot worse could happen. Are you sure it wasn't chipped prior to surgery?
  • Thanks Gator I'm sure it wasn't chipped before hand, I'm kinda obsessed with my teeth lol. I never saw my surgeon before or after my surgery (well, I seen her the day before my surgery lol.) I won't get to see her till next month and I'll be sure to ask her, really out of curiosity more than anything
  • My husband had surgery a couple of years ago and woke up missing a crown on one of his back teeth. It took him a few days to realize it. I guess the tube the anesthesiologist puts down the throat knocked it off. I may be wrong about this, but if I remember correctly, it seems like the form he had to sign before the surgery indicated that he was aware this was a possible risk.
  • I remember that being specifically listed on my release form as well when I had surgery (to remove a breast tumor - that turned out to be benign, thankfully).
  • Unfortunately, this is actually a fairly common occurrance with laryngoscopes during intubation. Since they are moving the metal piece around in your mouth in the process of trying to get it in *just* the right spot so they can see the opening of the trachea, trying at the same time to keep your head in the right position and holding the ET tube in their other hand etc, often they'll accidently hit a tooth with the blade and chip it. I've seen an entire tooth get knocked out actually, but fortunately it was a baby tooth that was already loose!