Intra-Abdominal Gossypiboma found during Cholecystectomy, 12 years after Lower Segment Caesarean Section

Abstract

Retained Surgical Foreign Bodies (RSFBs) is an uncommon event in the surgical practice. Most of them occur after intra-abdominal and pelvic surgeries. They usually present within days after surgery but their incidental discovery after decades has also been reported.We present a case of a 44-year- old obese and diabetic female patient who presented with clinical and radiological findings of chronic calculus cholecystitis. She had past surgical history of Lower Segment Caesarean Section (LSCS) 12 years back, followed by a negative laparotomy. During her open cholecystectomy procedure, a hard mass was found between the small bowel loops. When removed and examined, it was found to be a retained surgical sponge which was most likely left in her body during prior LSCS procedure. Asymp- tomatic, uncomplicated and (ultrasonographically) undetected nature of RSFB in our case suggests its consideration and careful search if there is past history of intra-abdominal or pelvic surgery.