Health

Woman perforated palate during ‘seemingly mundane’ act of eating Pringles at Christmas

Study published in Irish Medical Journal says 54-year-old left with 2cm hole in mouth after crisps pierced tissue, exposing deformity

A 54-year-old woman perforated the tissue separating her oral and nasal cavities while eating a Pringle. Photograph: iStock
Darragh McDonagh
Fri Dec 16 2022 - 07:43

The “seemingly mundane” act of eating crisps could be “risky” for certain people with an unusual deformity, doctors have warned, after a 54-year-old woman perforated the tissue separating her oral and nasal cavities while eating a Pringle.

The woman was left with a 2cm hole in her palate through which food and drink continuously entered her nose from her mouth last Christmas, according to a case report published in the Irish Medical Journal.

The woman had a submucous cleft palate, a hole in the roof of the mouth covered by a thin layer of tissue. It was undiagnosed until one of the snacks perforated the skin and exposed the underlying abnormality.

She experienced “nasal regurgitation” with fluids and solids passing into her nasal cavity from her mouth throughout the festive period and also reported a change in her speech quality due to air leaking through the hole.

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‘Hypernasality’

The incident occurred on Christmas Day, after which the woman was examined and a 20mm x 20mm fistula in her palate was discovered. Formal speech assessment confirmed “hypernasality”.

Given the rarity of the occurrence, a biopsy was performed to exclude the possibility of malignancy.

There are “scant reports” in medical literature of traumatic penetration occurring in patients with undiagnosed submucous cleft palate, the authors noted, and this was certainly the first instance of “an acquired fistula caused by a popular potato-based snack”.

The patient underwent formal repair of the fistula in her palate to correct the deformity. Following the operation, there was “an excellent functional result”, resolving the issues of nasal regurgitation and hypernasality. Speech therapy was not required.

The report noted that the only similar case that could be identified involved a burn sustained while eating hot food, which subsequently revealed an undiagnosed submucous cleft palate.

“It can be concluded that the seemingly mundane activity of eating potato snacks may be a risky occupation for those with underlying palatal deficiency,” the authors concluded.