Author(s)

Noran A. Sultan¹, Ismael Mansori¹, Hamed A. Mawlawi²

¹Department of General Surgery, King Abdulaziz Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
²Department of Pathology, King Abdulaziz Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction and importance: In the surgical field, we utilize gauze and surgical instruments daily, and the complications can be divided into avoidable versus nonavoidable. The term Gossypioma in the literature indicates a retained surgical sponge or gauze. It can be there for years and be dormant or discovered within days as the patient starts to reveal symptoms. This makes diagnosing challenging pre-operatively as the radiological findings might not be as specific. Case presentation: A 75 male Moroccan patient with Normal Body mass index, Medically free. His main complaint was Abdominal pain in the epigastric area. His past surgical history was positive for a left open inguinal hernia repair with mesh three months ago that went uneventfully And an open appendectomy before 20 years. The Abdomen X-ray: multiple air-fluid levels with dilated small bowel as well as perfectly rounded calcifications at the right lower quadrant. Conclusion: It’s a devastating medical error, but it can be avoidable. Communication between the surgical team and operation staff is a crucial and straightforward tactic to prevent these complications. As the sequel will reveal itself at any time and the patient will pay the price.

Gossypiboma, Retained Foreign Body, Surgical Sponge, Small Bowel Obstruction, Surgical Gauze

Sultan, N. , Mansori, I. and Mawlawi, H. (2023) Gossypiboma, the Never Event; a Case Report. Open Journal of Emergency Medicine, 11, 80-86. doi: 10.4236/ojem.2023.113009.