Gossypiboma revisited: A never ending issue

Area of Science:

• Surgical Safety
• Patient Outcomes
• Medical Complications

Background:

• Retained surgical items, frequently sponges, are a serious complication causing severe patient morbidity and psychological distress to surgical teams.
• Gossypiboma (retained surgical sponge) is underreported, with presentation varying from months to years post-surgery depending on the body's reaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the clinical course of patients with retained surgical sponges after caesarean sections.
• To highlight risk factors and discuss preventive strategies for gossypiboma.

Main Methods:

• Case series describing three patients who developed gossypiboma after caesarean sections.
• Review of clinical presentations, surgical interventions, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• Two patients required simple sponge extraction shortly after surgery.
• One patient necessitated a colectomy due to a retained sponge presenting years later.
• Identified risk factors include emergency surgery, procedural changes, higher BMI, multiple teams, and incorrect counts.

Conclusions:

• Gossypiboma remains a risk despite precautions; technological advancements are crucial to supplement manual counts.
• Early detection and intervention are key, with surgical approaches varying in complexity.
• Implementing new technologies in surgical protocols can further safeguard against retained surgical items.