title: Spinal textiloma (gossypiboma): a report of three cases misdiagnosed as tumour.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Textile products commonly used in surgery (e.g., sponges or gauze) have been known to cause complications after spinal surgery. Associated complications usually arise months or even years after the primary surgery. In case of spine surgery, these bodies are often detected during neuroradiological evaluations to investigate reported back pain; however, this complication often remains asymptomatic.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The research is intended to increase awareness among both spinal surgeons and neuroradiologists of this potential complication.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is a retrospective case series of three patients with retained surgical textile products who had been misdiagnosed with spinal tumour. The medical records of the patients were reviewed and demographic data, clinical aspects, initial diagnosis, surgical procedures, time interval between previous operation and onset of symptoms, laboratory findings, radiological findings, treatment, and outcome were analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The three patients included two women and one man aged between 64 and 67 years. All patients had a previous surgery for lumbar disc herniation. The time from the previous surgical procedures to presentation ranged from 3 to 17 years. All patients presented with non-specific lower back pain and/or radiculopathy without clinical findings of infection. Laboratory parameters were otherwise normal. All three cases had been misdiagnosed as a spinal tumor based on magnetic resonance imaging findings. During new surgical procedures, gauze bandages, i.e., surgical textiles left during a previous operation, were found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Textiloma is an important and rarely mentioned potential neurosurgical complication that may remain asymptomatic for years. They are more common in obese patients, after emergency surgery, and with unplanned changes in surgical procedure such as bleeding and unintended neurosurgical complications. Neuroradiological findings are variable and non-specific; thus, patients could be misdiagnosed with a spinal tumor or abscess. Likewise, in patients with a history of spinal surgery, spinal abscesses, haematomas, hypertrophic scars, fibrosarcomas, rhabdomyosarcomas, and schwannomas should definitely be considered in the differential diagnosis and considered when planning diagnostic procedures. Appropriate antibiotic therapy is recommended when a suppurative complication is present or suspected. Textiloma is a medico-legal complication that can be prevented by the education of surgical staff, the counting method (preoperatively, at closure, and at the end), and use of products with radiopaque barcodes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kocaeli Derince Research and Teaching Hospital, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Soner
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Gülhane Military Academy Haydarpaşa Training Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Atabey
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Ümraniye Research and Teaching Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simşek
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Ümraniye Research and Teaching Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sait
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naderi
keywords: Gauze bandage; foreign body granuloma; gossypiboma; lumbar spine; spinal tumour; surgical textile products