Retained foreign bodies after surgery is a rare condition which can have medico-legal consequences. Foreign bodies forgotten in the abdomen include towels, artery forceps, pieces of broken instruments or irrigation sets, and rubber tubes. The most common surgically retained foreign body is the laparotomy sponge. Such materials cause foreign body reaction in the surrounding tissue. The complicat...

As part of a review of substance abuse deaths in Dutchess County, New York, the Dutchess County Medical Examiner's Office identified 3 cases of angiocentric systemic foreign-body granulomatosis discovered at autopsy. Our investigation disclosed that in all 3 cases patients surreptitiously injected crushed oral prescription medication. Of the patients, 2 obtained intravenous access through centr...

Foreign body reaction (FBR), initiated by adherence of macrophages to biomaterials, is associated with several complications. Searching for mechanisms potentially useful to overcome these complications, we have established the signaling role of monocytes/macrophages in the development of FBR and the presence of CD34(+) cells that potentially differentiate into myofibroblasts. Therefore, CD68(+)...