A review of medicolegal consequences of gossypiboma.

ABSTRACT

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 (textilomas or gossypibomas) cause foreign body reaction in the surrounding tissue. The complications caused by these foreign bodies are well known, but cases are rarely published because of medico legal implications. The diagnosis of gossypiboma and the second surgical operation needed for removal of medical problem can lead to start of legal problem between the patient and the surgeon at fault. The medico legal consequences of gossypiboma are significant. Patients may be inadvertently informed that masses might be malignant and may undergo unnecessarily invasive investigations, procedures or operations. Gossypiboma may lead to disappointing and undesired consequences for a surgeon; moreover, it is one of the significant medico-legal problems needs to be solved by specialists of forensic medicine.