Abdominal Textiloma Mimicking a Tumor Discovered During Anatomopathological Examination: A Case Report

Textiloma refers to a rare postoperative complication that can occur when surgical sponges or instruments are accidentally left inside the patient's body. It is often asymptomatic and difficult to diagnose, particularly in chronic cases where there are no specific clinical or radiological signs for differential diagnosis. In such cases, diagnosis depends heavily on the patient's medical history. Abdominal X-rays are not particularly useful, but ultrasound is reliable. CT scans offer a precise topographical diagnosis but cannot always be accurate. Some teams have proposed using MRI. We report a case of intra-abdominal textiloma in a 35-year-old patient who had undergone surgery 9 years earlier for an ectopic pregnancy. A pelvic ultrasound revealed an ovarian cyst, and during the ensuing surgical exploration, a pseudo-tumoral abdominal mass adhering to the stomach was discovered. The mass was removed, and it was found to contain a small surgical sponge measuring 25x15cm. The purpose of this work is to highlight the diagnostic challenges of this pathology and the importance of exploratory laparotomy.