Unusual cause of refractory infection in head and neck surgery; Retained surgical sponges

Abstract

Refractory infections are not common in head and neck region. As gossypiboma (retained surgical sponges) is also rare in head and neck surgeries, it is generally ignored as a potential diagnosis. In this article we aimed to call attention to gossypiboma cases in refractory maxillary infections. We present three cases of retained surgical sponges after head and neck surgery occurred in between 2003 and 2011. We also discussed the possible causes and prevention strategies for them.

Keywords

• Facial surgery,Gossypiboma,Maxilla surgery,Neck dissection,Retained surgical sponge,Spangioma

References

1. Amr, A.E., 2009. A submandibular gossypiboma mimicking a salivary fistula: A case report. Cases J. 2, 6413.
2. Berger, C., Hartmann, M., Wildemann, B., 2003. Progressive visual loss due to a muslinoma-report of a case and review of the literature. Eur. J. Neurol. 153, 8.
3. Cima, R.R., Kollengode, A., Garnatz, J., Storsveen, A., Weisbrod, C., Deschamps, C., 2008. Incidence and characteristics of potential and actual retained foreign object events in surgical patients. J. Am. Coll. Surg. 207, 80-87.
4. Dossett, L.A., Dittus, R.S., Speroff, T., May, A.K., Cotton, B.A., 2008. Cost-effectiveness of routine radio-graphs after emergent open cavity operations. Surgery. 144, 317-321.
5. Gawande, A.A., Studdert, D.M., Orav, E.J., Brennan, T.A., Zinner, M.J., 2003. Risk factors for retained instruments and sponges after surgery. N. Engl. J. Med. 348, 229-235.
6. Lincourt, A.E., Harrell, A., Cristiano, J., Sechrist, C., Kercher, K., Heniford, B.T., 2007. Retained foreign bodies after surgery. J. Surg. Res. 138, 170-174.
7. Prabhu, S.S., Keogh, A.J., Parekh, H.C., Perera, S., 1994. Optochiasmal arachnoiditis induced by muslin wrapping of intracranial aneurysms. A report of two cases and a review of the literature. Br. J. Neurosurg. 8, 471-876.
8. Rappaport, W., Haynes, K., 1990. The retained surgical sponge following intra-abdominal surgery. A continuing problem. Arch. Surg. 125, 405-407.

9. Song, S.Y., Hong, J.W., Yoo, W.M., Tark, K.C., 2009. Gossypiboma after mandibular contouring surgery. J. Craniofac. Surg. 20, 1607-1610.
10. Tan, V.E., Sethi, D.S., 2011. Gossypiboma: An unusual intracranial complication of endoscopic sinus surgery. Laryngoscope. 121, 879-881.
11. Wilson, C., 1884 Foreign bodies left in the abdomen after laparotomy. Gynecol. Tr. 9, 109-112.
12. Wan, W., Le, T., Riskin, L., Macario, A., 2009. Improving safety in the operating room: A systematic literature review of retained surgical sponges. Curr. Opin. Anaesthesiol. 22, 207-214.
13. Yildirim, S., Tarim, A., Nursal, T.Z., Yildirim, T., Caliskan, K., Torer, N., Karagulle, E., Noyan, T., Moray, G., Haberal, M., 2006. Retained surgical sponge (gossypiboma) after intraabdominal or retroperitoneal surgery: 14 cases treated at a single center. Langenbecks Arch. Surg. 391, 390-395.