Gossypiboma: the failure of a successful intervention

Abstract

If successful surgery is the primary quest of any surgeon, unintentionally leaving behind surgical items in the operative field remains his most feared obsession. This rare but dramatic accident can lead to potentially fatal complications and turn both lives of the surgeon and the patient upside down. We present the case of a 29-year-old female patient who presented to the ER with three days history of severe diffuse abdominal pain associated with fever, biological inflammatory syndrome and well-tolerated iron deficiency anaemia. She had no past medical history except for a lower segment cesarean section 5 months ago. Abdominal MRI allowed the diagnosis of two gossypibomas responsible for two intra-abdominal collections. An emergency laparotomy allowed the removal of these foreign bodies and the management of their serious complications of intestinal perforation by the construction of a double intestinal stoma. The patient made a post-operative uneventful recovery. This observation emphasizes the need to raise the practitioner´s awareness about this differential diagnosis in every case of any poorly localized abdominal pain occurring after surgery.