Intra-Abdominal Gossypiboma: A Rare Cause of Palpable Abdominal Mass With a Review of Literature

Gossypiboma is a term used to describe a pseudotumor caused by accidental retention of surgical swab or sponge in the body after surgery. The abdominal cavity is the most common site of retained surgical sponge. It is quite an infrequent surgical complication which is usually rarely reported because of the fear of medico-legal consequences. Here, we are reporting a case of a 26-years-old woman referred to our outpatient surgery clinic (OPD) from another hospital with complaint of intermittent abdominal pain, fever, and abdominal lump for 4 months following removal of IUD, which was attempted laparoscopically, and later converted to open laparotomy. She also had a history of cesarean section done one and half year ago in the same hospital. Clinical examination revealed a palpable abdominal mass in the para-umblical region. However, a computed tomography (CT) revealed a huge intra-abdominal mass. A diagnosis of intraabdominal gossypiboma was suggested and the patient underwent exploratory laparotomy where the diagnosis was confirmed and the mass was excised.