Textiloma abdominal: actualización y aporte al diagnóstico desde las imágenes

Gossypiboma is a term used to describe a mass formed by textiles left inside a patient during surgery and the foreign body reaction that surrounds it. Its incidence has considerably decreased over time; however, its legal and social impact has motivated its revision. Articles were searched via PubMed and SCielo and a total of 25 references were included from it. Gossypibomas have a wide and nonspecific clinical presen-tation; location, time of evolution, and type of inflammatory response determine the wide spectrum of clinical scenarios that can go from an incidental diagnosis in images to severe clinical condition secondary to complications (abscess, bowel obstruction, sepsis, within others). In this context, imaging support becomes essential. Plain radiography is usually used as the initial approach due to its easy access and interpretation; however, the radiopaque marker can distort or disintegrate over time. The computed abdomen tomography allows an increased sensitivity for the diagnosis but findings can easily be misinterpreted as a neoplastic disease, abscess or hematoma if the distinctive characteristics are not known. The finding of a hypodense spongiform mass with air bubbles inside and contrast enhanced wall or a reticular mass surrounded by a calcified cortex should guide us to its diagnosis. Gossypiboma is definitely a complex issue, not only from a legal and social scope but also from a medical point of view, being the study by images and the history of surgical procedures the keys for a timely diagnosis.