Todayโs path rounds are on ๐ ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ! Another fun word for your week 
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ข๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ literally means โcotton tumourโ, which is pretty accurate to what they are! Gossypibomas are when a piece of ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ is inadvertently left in the animal during surgery.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
Any species can get this!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
As mentioned, these occur when a surgical gauze is left behind during a surgical procedure. Thankfully, there havenโt been many reports of this occurring in veterinary medicine! In humans, it is estimated that 1 in 1000 abdominal surgeries will have a gauze left behind 
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ?
The fibers that make up gauze are not easily broken down by the immune system, so they tend to form ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ. These are big masses composed of the foreign material, lots of ๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ฌ (the bodyโs main clean up cell) and dead or dying cells. To try and contain the foreign material, the body often produces a ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ of scar tissue around the gauze, making it look like a tumour or other mass!
Many of these gossypibomas donโt actually cause problems for the patient, but in some cases there may be bacteria trapped within the gauze that begins to proliferate within the granuloma. This can result in fever, severe abdominal pain, depression and weight loss, as the body responds to the massive ball of infection.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐๐?
Ultrasound to identify the mass is often the first step, but confirming the diagnosis usually involves removing the granuloma and cutting it open! Often the gauze is relatively intact inside, making the diagnosis pretty easy. This removal process also treats the problem.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐?
There are a few ways that gossypibomas are prevented during surgery. The first is counting the number of gauze sponges prior to surgery, and after surgery, to make sure they are all accounted for. Many surgical centers also use gauze sponges that will show up on X-ray, so any mistakes can be caught quickly by post-operative imaging. Finally, surgeons are always very careful to check the surgical site prior to suturing it closed, just to make sure nothing was accidentally left in the animal!
๐๐ก๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ
1-4) Gossypibomas! You can see how they still look like gauze, which is pretty neat!
5-6) What gossypibomas look like under the microscope. Pretty 
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
Papazoglou LG, Tsioli V, Patsikas M, Kazakos GM. Retained surgical sponge. Compendium 2004; 26(
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Photos 1-3 ยฉ Noahโs Arkive contributors King, Dick, Donovan licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo 4 ยฉ Wikimedia Commons contributors Kuebi, Netha Hussain licensed under CC Share Alike 2.0 Generic.
