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Case Reports
. 2025 Jan 8;20(1):47.
doi: 10.1186/s13019-024-03264-y.

A rare case of intrathoracic Gauzoma

Taishi Adachi  1 , Hidenao Kayawake  2 , Hiroshi Hamakawa  1 , Yutaka Takahashi  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A rare case of intrathoracic Gauzoma

Taishi Adachi et al. J Cardiothorac Surg. .

Abstract

Background: Gauzoma is a foreign body reactive granuloma which is an extremely rare complication of thoracic surgery. We describe a case of a Gauzoma in which the gauzes were removed by mini-thoracotomy as a less invasive procedure, discovered incidentally after 35 years of follow-up.

Case presentation: A 51-year-old man was referred to our department for hyperhidrosis treatment, and imaging studies and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of Gauzoma. As the Gauzoma gradually grew for a few years, surgical intervention was judged necessary, and the removal of the gauzes was performed in this case. A two-stage operation in two days was required to complete the surgery. The completion of gauze removal was confirmed in the second surgery using a postoperative computed tomography (CT) scan. The patient is currently doing well 17 months after surgery, and the size of granuloma unchanged.

Conclusion: We performed the removal of the gauzes as the treatment for Gauzoma. Although removing the gauze may have prevented its growth so far, careful follow-up is still needed.

Keywords: Foreign body granuloma; Gauzoma; Less-invasive surgery; Postoperative computed tomography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: We obtained written consent from the patient for the publication of this case report and any accompanying images. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a On radiography, gauze fragments are not found in the mass. b Computed tomography reveals a gauze fragment with calcification in the granuloma. c Two years later, the mass has increased in size. d Granuloma is pressing on the trachea
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Arrowhead indicates the non foreign object removal area and gauze. b Computed tomography reveals that the foreign object removal is completed. c X-ray 5 months after the operation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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