Endoscopic removal of retained large surgical gauze: a case report

Abstract

In this paper, a 63-year-old woman was reported with recurrent abdominal pain after cholecystectomy. A retained surgical towel was seen by CT-scan in the peritoneal cavity, where it migrated across duodenum wall toward pre-pyloric region of the stomach. Endoscopic removal of the large retained gauze in size of 40 cm x 40 cm was successfully performed without laparotomy and with no complication. In the last years, the main method for removal of retained foreign objects has been open laparotomy or laparoscopy. We claimed that removal of large retained surgical long gauze is actually possible using upper GI endoscopy by expert endoscopists, and, therefore, there is no need for anesthesia or surgery as well as no occurrence of complication and laceration.