Inflammatory Pseudotumor Resulting from Foreign Body in Abdominal Cavity Detected by FDG PET

A 43-year-old woman with cervical cancer underwent total hysterectomy 1 year earlier and was referred to our department for a follow-up fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomographic study. The whole-body images demonstrated a 6-cm-diameter spherical mass in the abdomen. The mass had intense FDG uptake peripherally with central photopenia (ring shaped). It was palpable and movable, with an elastic consistency and a smooth, even surface. The tumor mass was identified as an inflammatory granuloma caused by a foreign body, very likely gauze left in the abdomen during the prior surgical procedure.