Gossypiboma as a cause of intestinal obstruction.

Gossypiboma / textiloma / retained surgical sponge is an avoidable surgical complication which can lead to patient morbidity, mortality and profound medicolegal implications. Retained surgical sponge can present early as abscess formation and septic complications or follow a silent course for many years to present later as intestinal obstruction, fistula formation or simply be extruded through rectum. A lady presented 8 months after laparotomy with symptoms of bowel obstruction due to a retained surgical sponge that had eroded into the rectosigmoid junction. The introduction of WHO Safety Checklist in operation theatres where advance tagging systems are not available, would lead to development of standard protocols and help in avoiding the occurrence of such retained surgical foreign bodies.