Retained surgical gauzes: acute and chronic CT and US findings.
Surgical sponges retained after laparotomy represent a diagnostic problem if they cannot be identified by radiopaque markers on standard radiographs. We report on 9 patients from different hospitals with an abdominal gossypiboma 7 days to 21 years after the surgical procedure. Plain radiographs may suggest the diagnosis if a textile foreign body is calcified, that is, is equipped with radiopaque marker, or when a characteristic "whirl-like" pattern is present. CT and US are necessary procedures in chronic cases, since the lesion may mimic a mass; US shows specific echogenic areas with acoustic shadow; CT usually reveals a hypodense mass with a thick peripheral rim.
Liessi
G
G
Department of Radiology Ospedale Civile, Castelfranco Veneto, Italy.
Semisa
M
M
Sandini
F
F
Roma
R
R
Spaliviero
B
B
Marin
G
G
D000005:Abdomen; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015503:Surgical Sponges; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography