| Abstract: | The objective of this work was to report the tomographic findings in five cases of intrathoracic textilomas. The CT scans of five patients presenting with textilomas after being submitted to thoracotomy for myocardial revascularisation were reviewed retrospectively. Two chest radiologists studied the scans independently, and decisions concerning the CT findings were made by consensus. In each of the five cases, the imaging findings were similar and showed lesions resembling an extrapulmonary mass and well-defined contours situated at the marginal posterior pleural surface. In four of the five cases, a low-density centre and peripheral rim-like enhancement were observed after administration of contrast media. The suspicion of textiloma should be raised when a patient with a history of previous myocardial revascularisation surgery presents with an extrapulmonary mass in close contact with the posterior pleural surface.Textiloma (also called gossypiboma) is a term used to describe a mass within the body composed of a cotton matrix, which usually refers to a retained surgical sponge or gauze, surrounded by a foreign body reaction 1, 2]. Most cases of textiloma reported in the literature have been connected to abdominal or orthopaedic surgery; very few have been linked with thoracic surgery 3]. It is also a rare complication of cardiac surgery 3, 4]. The aim of this work was to report the similar tomographic findings in five cases of intrathoracic textilomas, revealed by the presence of thoracic pain in the late post-operative period after successful myocardial revascularisation surgery. The pre-operative diagnosis was suspected by a combination of imaging findings and the historical context of previous cardiac surgery, and subsequently confirmed by surgical removal. |
