Gossypiboma due to a retained surgical sponge following abdominal hysterectomy, complicated by intestinal migration and small bowel obstruction- A Case Report

Abstract

A gossypiboma is a mass of cotton material from any source, left in a body cavity after a surgical procedure. This enhances the morbidity, cost of treatment and potential mortality to the patient with the addition of medicolegal issues. We report a case of a 32 year old lady who presented with complaints of central abdominal pain and vomiting for 1 month, fever for 20 days and non-passage of flatus and faeces for 5 days. She had undergone a total abdominal hysterectomy 4 months prior. On clinical examination, adhesive small intestinal obstruction was suspected. On CECT evaluation, a gossypiboma was suggested to have possibly migrated into the small bowel. Laparotomy revealed the presence of clumped bowel loops, which on dissection got torn and showed a gauze like material within the bowel lumen. A diagnosis of gossypiboma with intestinal migration of a retained surgical sponge was ascertained. The possibility of a gossypiboma, particularly in previously operated cases, must be kept in mind and measures must be taken to prevent such incidences.