Retained surgical sponge after laparotomy

Abstract

Erosion of a retained surgical sponge into the intestine is an unusual occurrence and may make its appearance months or years later. The demonstration of a distended bowel by the barium-impregnated mass with multiple polypoidal filling defects in a patient who has undergone previous laparotomy should lead the physician to suspect a retained surgical sponge. Surgical intervention is rewarding.

Initial Clinical Evaluation of a Handheld Device for Detecting Retained Surgical Gauze Sponges Using Radiofrequency Identification Technology

“…2 Alternatively, retained sponges may lead to serious sequelae, including sepsis, intestinal obstruction, fistulization, and death. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The…”

Gossypiboma and Surgeon- Current Medicolegal Aspect – A Review

“…The presentation may be acute (within months) or chronic (within years). Acute generally follows a septic course with granuloma or abscess formation, whereas chronic presents in the form of adhesion or encapsulation [11,12]. There is a case report of a 66-year-old man in whom gossypiboma was found after 24 years of gastrectomy [13].…”

Intestinal Obstruction Due to Retained, Eroding Surgical Sponge: A Case Report

“…All preventive measures should be taken to avoid this condition [14,15] . A thorough exploration of all quadrants of the abdomen at the termination of surgical cases is mandatory [1,16] . Inspite of all the effort usually done by the nurses in counting the sponge and instrument, the cases of foreign body is still seeing which could be due to failure in the counting by the attending nurses and the responsibility of nursing in missing the foreign body is debatable some consider it the responsibility of surgeon, but in my opinion, is it the surgeon responsibility to clarify that the sponge and instrument count are complete.…”