False positive lymph node activity on positron emission tomography (PET/CT) due to hemostatic compresses.

Combined positron emission tomography and computerized tomography (PET/CT) using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18-FDG) is the most effective study to identify invasion of pelvic and/or para-aortic lymph node chains in cancers of the uterine cervix. We report the case of a patient who underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy and cytoreductive surgery for endometrial cancer; postoperative PET/CT identified an intense localization of 18-FDG in the region of the right common iliac chain. This finding led to an open re-exploration at which the only finding was a granuloma arising in reaction to a hemostatic sponge.