asymptomatic intra-abdominal gossypiboma mimicking recurrent ovarian tumor

Background: a variety of presentations may be manifested by retained sponge, including intestinal obstruction, intestinal fistula, malabsorption syndrome and chronic pain from adhesions; in some cases, it may have an asymptomatic clinical course.case report: in a 41-year-old female, gravida 4 para 4, with a history of laparotomy performed for an ovarian adenocarcinoma three years prior to her referral, a gossypiboma was incidentally detected on follow up imaging. the gossypiboma was safely excised by a midline laparotomy.conclusion: asymptomatic gossypiboma should be considered in patients presenting with a mass, who have undergone laparotomy in the past.