Surgical Sponge After Splenectomy: A Rare Case Report

A gossypiboma is a cotton sponge retained in the abdominal cavity after the operative procedure. It leads to tremendous morbidity, loss of money and even occasional death of the patient. Another problem on the part of treating the surgeon is defamation and medicolegal issue. We report a case of a 25- year young man presented with pain in abdomen and vomiting for six months, History of a lump in the right lumbar region for two months and with constipation for five days. He had operated for splenectomy after a blunt injury to the abdomen eight months back. On clinical examination, adhesive obstruction of bowel was suspected. On computed tomography, (CT), a foreign body was revealed. On laparotomy, there was evidence of sponge in a jejunum. By doing enterotomy, a large sponge was removed. Postoperative recovery was not associated with significant complications. An essential precaution is to look for retained foreign body and confirmation before the closure of any body cavity, as there may even after all precautionary exercises, occur retention of foreign bodies. Hence consider always the possibility of gossypiboma in the differential diagnosis of chronic abdominal pain or a mass in patients with a history surgery.