Gauze swabs left intrapericardially following cardiac surgery

The occurrence of surgical gauze swabs left in the body following operations is not as rare as one would suspect, however the actual incidence is difficult to estimate. This accident seems to be occurring most frequently in general and gastro-intestinal surgery followed by operations in gynaecology and obstetrics and orthopaedics. There have been only a few papers in the literature dealing with the topic of foreign bodies left in place after cardiac surgical procedures. In this paper two cases of gauze swabs left intrapericardially following cardiac surgery are presented. The issue goes far beyond professional significance alone, but raises important and critical questions of medical ethics let alone legal implications.