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Sonographic appearance of a retained surgical sponge in the neck
Author(s) -
Burrel Marta,
Capurro Sebastian,
Arguis Pedro,
Vilana Ramon
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of clinical ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.272
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1097-0096
pISSN - 0091-2751
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0096(200007/08)28:6<311::aid-jcu9>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - medicine , sponge , ultrasound , surgery , foreign body , thyroidectomy , radiology , thyroid , botany , biology
We report the sonographic appearance and clinical course of a retained surgical sponge in the neck beginning 6 months after a partial thyroidectomy. Sonograms showed a subcutaneous curvilinear hyperechoic interface with marked acoustic shadowing obscuring the left side of the neck. Three months later, a fistulous tract could be seen. Surgical exploration revealed a florid foreign tissue reaction due to a retained surgical sponge. Early diagnosis of retained sponges is important to enable expeditious removal before complications develop. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 28:311–313, 2000.