Abdominal Textiloma Mimicking as Left Colic Tumour: A Postoperative Complication Still Common in Low-Income Countries

Abstract

Retained foreign bodies have become very rare in countries where the safety rules in the operating theatre are very rigorous and follow precise guidelines. There are low-income countries where hospital structures are precarious, in which the implementation of surgical safety rules has only been effective recently. Surgical teams in these countries are not yet well trained in the observance of the guidelines concerning swab count, meaning that textilomas are not uncommon. Abdominal textiloma may be asymptomatic, or present serious gastrointestinal complications such as bowel obstruction, perforation, or fistula formation because of misdiagnosis. It may mimic abscess formation in the early stage or soft tissue masses in the chronic stage. This case report presents a 27-year-old female who underwent an emergency laparotomy in a rural surgical centre for an ectopic pregnancy. Two months later, a swelling had appeared on the left side of her abdomen, gradually increasing in size, which was not very painful but caused digestive discomfort and asthenia. Intermittent fever was described and treated with antibiotics. The patient was referred to a better equipped centre to benefit from a CT scan. A textiloma was strongly suspected on the CT but a left colic mass was not excluded. Laparotomy confirmed the diagnosis of textiloma and the postoperative course was uneventful. Prevention rules must be strengthened in these countries where patients can hardly bear the costs of iterative surgeries for complications that are avoidable.

Endoscopic Removal of a Transgastric Migrated Textiloma: A Case Report

“…It has become very rare as safety rules in the operating room follow precise guidelines [ 3 ]. However, it must be suspected in front of pain, abdominal mass or signs of infection in patients with a history of abdominal surgery [ 4 ].…”

“…It could then lead to intra-abdominal abscess formation, like our patient in whom the forgotten compress result in a subphrenic abscess, or in a mass which could simulate a tumor [ 3 ].…”

Multidetector Computed Tomography Evaluation of Uncommon Acute Post-Caesarean Section Complications

“…Textiloma and gossypiboma are non-medical terms used to describe a mass of cotton matrix/sponge accidently left inside a body cavity during an operation. The term "gossypiboma" is derived from the Latin word gossypium, meaning cotton, and the Swahili word boma, meaning place of concealment [20,21]. CT is the technique of choice for detecting gossypibomas.…”