Gossypiboma - Rare Cause of Rectovaginal Fistula: A Case Report
Published: 2020-09-11
Page: 252-256
Issue: 2020 - Volume 3 [Issue 2]
Neeraj Saxena
Department of General and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Dr RML Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Rohit Chauhan *
Department of General and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Dr RML Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Tayod Kumar Choudhary
Department of General and Minimally Invasive Surgery, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Dr RML Hospital, New Delhi, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Gossypiboma is the term used when a surgical sponge is left unknowingly in the patient’s body after a surgical procedure. It is a grave but preventable complication of surgery which can lead to serious medico-legal complications. It may either present early with/without lump formation or may remain asymptomatic for a long time with only vague symptoms. However, gossypiboma leading to the formation of a rectovaginal fistula is extremely rare.
We report a case of a 40-year lady who presented with vague pain abdomen and passage of stools and flatus per vagina. She had a history of total abdominal hysterectomy eight months back done at an outside hospital. A computed tomography (CT) revealed a retained surgical sponge and a fistulous tract between the rectum and vagina. Exploratory laparotomy was done at our institution and the surgical sponge was extracted from a mass comprising of distal ileum and sigmoid colon. Bowel continuity was restored with an ileal diversion.
Keywords: Gossypiboma, rectovaginal fistula, retained surgical sponge.