Symptomatic foreign body reaction to haemostatic alginate.

Kaltostat, a haemostatic wound dressing made from non-woven sodium calcium alginate fibres is becoming more frequently and widely used by practitioners. We report a florid foreign body giant cell reaction elicited by Kaltostat which had been used to obtain haemostasis in an apicectomy cavity on an upper lateral incisor approximately 7 months earlier. The case demonstrates that alginate fibres left in situ may elicit a long-lasting and symptomatic adverse foreign body reaction. This material should be reserved for problematic haemorrhage and be removed from the tooth socket soon after haemostasis.