Postoperative complications due to a retained surgical sponge

Retained surgical sponge or glossypiboma is a relatively common occurrence; however, surgeons may not report these events for fear of litigation and adverse publicity. We report postoperative complications in three cases due to retained surgical sponges. The first case, a 26-year-old woman, presented with gastric outlet obstruction due to the sponge obstructing the pyloric canal three weeks following cholecystectomy, which was completely relieved following endoscopical removal of the sponge. The second case, a 32-year-old woman, presented with repeated attacks of intestinal obstruction following cholecystectomy and tubal ligation and was treated with surgical removal of the sponge. The third patient, a 40-year-old woman, presented with features of colonic obstruction following hysterectomy. Colonoscopy revealed a partial migration of the sponge through the colonic wall and on laparotomy, she was found to have multiple internal fistulae between the small and large intestines, all occurring around the inflammation caused by the retained sponge.