Gossypiboma as an unusual cause of altered bowel habit

Gossypiboma is the term for a surgical swab accidentally left inside a patient's body. It is derived from the Latin word ‘gossypium’ meaning cotton and the Swahili ‘boma’ meaning place of concealment.1 Gossypiboma has an incidence of 1:1500 for intra-abdominal operations.2 Common presentations of gossypiboma are abdominal distension, ileus, tenesmus, pain, palpable mass, vomiting, weight loss, diarrhoea, abscess and fistula formation.3 In addition to the physical and psychological impact …