Despite being unusual, retained foreign bodies after surgical procedures is a matter of great concern for surgeons. The main purpose of this article is to describe five cases of intestinal obstruction due to intraluminal surgical sponges. The average time between the first operation and the intestinal obstruction was eight months. All patients referred abdominal pain and change of intestinal habit prior to the intestinal obstruction. In two cases bowel perforation was also observed, in addition to the intestinal obstruction. Four patients had no postoperative complications. One patient died due to an intra-abdominal abscess and sepsis.
Ileus; Foreign body; surgical sponge
