IMPORTANT: We currently have a number of bugs related to image cropping and are actively trying to resolve them. In the meantime, we have disabled cropping. Apologies for any inconvenience. Stay informed: radiopaedia.org/chat

Gossypiboma - hypopharynx

Case contributed by Mohammad Farghali Ali Tosson
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Post thyroidectomy difficult swallowing and hoarseness of voice.

Patient Data

Age: 20 years
Gender: Female
ct

An ill defined hypopharyngeal lesion is seen 3 x 1.5 x 1.5 cm in maximum dimensions. It shows heterogeneous non-specific appearance with multiple air bubbles (spongiform appearance) . Arising at the midline supraglotic region and extending laterally to fill the right pyriform fossa, No muscle or vascular infiltration, associated with bilateral cervical lymph nodes

Surgically removed thyroid gland

Case Discussion

Gossypiboma means a foreign body reaction to retained surgical sponge after operation inside a body cavity. In our case, it is a cotton piece that was removed surgically. These cotton pieces may be missed at thyroidectomy for many reasons or it may been left behind by anesthetics (sometimes they wedge gauze in the mouth with an ETT) as it seems quite remote from a thyroidectomy site.

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.