Retained Surgical Sponge that Eroded into Small Intestinal Lumen.

Kim, Sung Hoon; Lee, Sang Soo; Jeon, Byung Hwa; Kil, Jun Cheul; Sohn, Woo Seok; Mok, Jung Eun; Lee, Eun Hye

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2004;47(3):589-592.
Published online March 1, 2004.

Retained Surgical Sponge that Eroded into Small Intestinal Lumen.

Sung Hoon Kim, Sang Soo Lee, Byung Hwa Jeon, Jun Cheul Kil, Woo Seok Sohn, Jung Eun Mok, Eun Hye Lee

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung Asan Hospital, Gangneung, Korea.
²Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung Asan Hospital, Gangneung, Korea.

Abstract

Foreign bodies retained in the peritoneal cavity rarely are documented, owing to medical, legal, and other reasons. A retained surgical sponge in the peritoneal cavity may cause symptoms both in the early postoperative period as well as months or years after the original operation. Among the complications reported following retention of surgical pads and sponges are obstruction, peritonitis, adhesions, abscess formation, erosion into the gastrointestinal lumen, and extrusion via the rectum. Erosion of a surgical sponge into the bowel is uncommon. We report a 33-year-old woman in whom retained surgical sponge eroded into the small bowel and produced unusual radiologic findings and complications.

Key Words: Foreign body, Abdominal cavity, Erosion, Small bowel