Premium
Sonographic appearances of retained surgical sponges in the abdomen and pelvis
Author(s) -
Li Qiu Yang,
Wang Long Xia,
An Ning Yu,
Xu Hong
Publication year - 2019
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/jcu.22804
Subject(s) - medicine , echogenicity , radiology , presentation (obstetrics) , abdomen , ultrasound , pelvis , acoustic shadow , pathological , pathology
Purpose To describe the sonographic (ultrasound—US) features of retained surgical sponges (RSSs) and compare them with the pathological findings. Methods Ultrasound features of RSSs in nine patients (seven women and two men) identified between June 1996 and July 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Patient characteristics including gender and age, location of the sponge, time interval until diagnosis, clinical presentation, and patient complaints were evaluated. Results The US appearances of RSSs could be classified into three types. Type I (five cases): an echogenic arc with a strong posterior shadow; type II (two cases): US appearance mimicked a cystic teratoma; type III (two cases): a cystic mass with zigzag‐shaped internal contents. CT and/or MRI showed a mass with density/signal intensity similar to that of the adjacent soft tissues. Conclusion The characteristic US findings along with a history of surgery can help reach a correct diagnosis of RSS.