Idiopathic weight loss due to an entero-enteric fistula from a gossypiboma retained for 27 years
Yusuf Tanrıkulu1
, Ceren Şen Tanrıkulu2, Gökhan Yılmaz1, Ercan Bıçakcı3
1Department of General Surgery, Zonguldak Atatürk State Hospital, Zonguldak, Turkey
2Department of Emergency Medicine, Bülent Ecevit University School of Medicine, Zonguldak, Turkey
3Department of Gastroenterology, Zonguldak Atatürk State Hospital, Zonguldak, Turkey
Abstract
Gossypiboma refers to a mass formed around surgical instruments or materials left in the body postoperatively. The occurrence of gossypibomas remains an important problem, despite improvements in surgical procedures and operating room facilities. The clinical presentation of gossypiboma can vary depending on the host response. This report describes a case of abdominal gossypiboma after splenectomy. A 48-year-old man who had undergone splenectomy 27 years ago was admitted to our clinic suffering from non-specific symptoms for 2 weeks. He was cachectic, but laboratory test results were normal. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a mass in the left hypochondrium. An entero-enteric fistula and an encapsulated foreign body (surgical compress) were detected during an exploratory laparotomy, and the foreign body was removed. Preventing gossypibomas is very important because of their potential to create medico-legal problems and increase mortality and morbidity. Therefore, forgotten surgical material should be considered in all patients with a surgical history, and surgery should be performed carefully.
Keywords: Entero-enteric fistula, foreign body, gossypiboma, textiloma
Cite this paper as: Tanrıkulu Y, Şen Tanrıkulu C, Yılmaz G, Bıçakcı E. Idiopathic weight loss due to an entero-enteric fistula from a gossypiboma retained for 27 years. Turk J Surg 2018; 34: 65-67.
Written informed consent was obtained from patient who participated in this study.
Externally peer-reviewed.
Concept - Y.T.; Design - Y.T.; Supervision - C.S.T., Y.T.; Resource - Y.T.; Materials - Y.T., G.Y.; Data Collection and/or Processing - Y.T., E.B.; Analysis and/or Interpretation - Y.T.; Literature Search - Y.T., C.S.T.; Writing Manuscript - Y.T., C.S.T.; Critical Reviews - Y.T.
No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.
The authors declared that this study has received no financial support.