Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Jun 17;2023(6):rjad328.
doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjad328. eCollection 2023 Jun.

'Chest gossypiboma after spinal surgery, not so easy to forget'

Santiago A Endara  1 , Gerardo A Dávalos  1 , Elizabeth Zamora E  2 , Ligia M Redrobán  3 , Gabriel A Molina  4   5
Affiliations
Case Reports

'Chest gossypiboma after spinal surgery, not so easy to forget'

Santiago A Endara et al. J Surg Case Rep. .

Abstract

During any surgical procedure, complications may arise, some of which are fortuitous, whereas others, unfortunately, occur because of errors of the surgical team. Fortunately, most are minor and do not affect the patient's recovery, but others can cause severe morbidity and even mortality. A retained cotton or gauze surgical sponge inadvertently left in the body during an operation is known as a gossypiboma. This dreadful oversight is a marked complication that can cause serious postoperative complications, a severe economic burden on the healthcare system, and many medicolegal implications. We report the case of a 30-year-old male, who suffered a spinal fracture which was repaired through an anterior fixation approach 12 years ago in a local state hospital without complications. Suddenly, he presented with chest pain and cough, and sought medical attention. An 8 × 5 × 8 cm low-density heterogeneous mass was discovered on his chest; after successful surgery, a gossypiboma formed by several gauzes without radiopaque markers was discovered.

Keywords: Chest Surgery; Gossypiboma; Retained gauzes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) CT, mass is seen in the posterior mediastinum attached to the right lung lobe. (B) CT, spongiform pattern is identified within the mass in the thorax. (C) 3D reconstruction of the CT scan, the mass can be identified in close contact with the lung.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Completely excised mass formed by several gauzes without radiopaque markers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sayan B, Yamansavci Sirzai E, Yildizeli B. A word of caution for gossypiboma. Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021;70:579–82. - PubMed
    1. Arıkan Y, Ozdemir O, Seker KG, Eksi M, Guner E, Kalfazade N, et al. Gossypiboma: a dramatic result of human error, case report and literature review. Prague Med Rep 2019;120:144–9. - PubMed
    1. Machado DM, Zanetti G, Araujo Neto CA, Nobre LF, de Meirelles G, Pereira e Silva JL, et al. Thoracic textilomas: CT findings. J Bras Pneumol 2014;40:535–42. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ridene I, Hantous-Zannad S, Zidi A, Smati B, Baccouche I, Kilani T, et al. Imaging of thoracic textiloma. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2011;39:e22–6. - PubMed
    1. Kiernan F, Joyce M, Byrnes CK, O’Grady H, Keane FBV, Neary P. Gossypiboma: a case report and review of the literature. Ir J Med Sci 2008;177:389–91. - PubMed

Publication types