Glutaraldehyde-induced bowel injury during gynecologic laparoscopy

Glutaraldehyde is a widely used disinfectant, especially in developing countries, for rapid and effective disinfection of laparoscopic instruments that are not suitable for sterilization in an autoclave. This incident report demonstrates that even remarkably small residual amounts of glutaraldehyde on inadequately cleaned laparoscopic instruments can cause chemical burns during laparoscopic surgery. Our goal is to raise awareness of the possible hazardous effects of glutaraldehyde when necessary measures are not taken to properly sterilize laparoscopic instruments.