Emergency Peripartum Hysterectomies at a District General Hospital in United Kingdom: 10-Year Review of Practice

Peripartum haemorrhage is an obstetric emergency which requires effective and timely management. A retrospective analysis was conducted at a single centre district hospital, over a 10-year period to describe factors that would lead to a peripartum hysterectomy. We sought to establish intraoperative and postoperative risks and review outcomes and complications associated with the procedure. A total of 29 cases (incidence 0.8 per 1000) were reviewed over 2001-2011. The mean parity was 1.8 and the mean maternal age was 33 years. Uterine atony was the most common indication for hysterectomy (12/29) followed by placenta praevia and accreta (4/29 and 5/29 cases, resp.). The commonest postoperative complications were sepsis and paralytic ileus. EPH most commonly occurs due to uterine atony but remains difficult to predict. Hospitals should continue to have robust systems and the necessary resources available to perform EPH where clinically indicated.

Bladder perforation during sling procedures: diagnosis and management of injury

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Midurethral slings are an effective and minimally invasive treatment for stress urinary incontinence. One of the most common intraoperative complications is bladder perforation, complicating between 2 and 10% of all operations, and on average 4.7%. It is usually corrected during surgery, with repositioning of the trocars. The purpose of this video is to demonstrate a method of replacing the trocars under direct vision.

METHODS

This video exhibits a bladder perforation during insertion of a retropubic midurethral sling (Advantage Fit; Boston Scientific) and gives a step-by step guide to the removal and repositioning of the sling under direct visualisation.

CONCLUSION

Repositioning of the trocars under direct vision in cases of bladder perforation may have numerous advantages. It may prevent damage to the urethra, possibly reduce the risk of postoperative infection and may be beneficial for trainees.

Bladder exstrophy combined with uterovaginal prolapse and its surgical management: case report and literature review

We describe a case of a postmenopausal woman with a corrected bladder exstrophy (BE) who presented with a uterovaginal prolapse complicated by calcified fibroids and discuss its surgical management. A 51-year-old woman presented with a uterovaginal prolapse. She had previously had one full term delivery by caesarean section 20 years ago. She had an ileal conduit performed for her BE at birth. A computed tomography scan revealed significant pelvic anomaly and the uterus contained multiple calcified fibroids. Due to the complexity of her condition the surgical management was planned in two stages: initial examination under anaesthetic in conjunction with a consultant urologist and then the definitive planned reconstructive surgery. This case describes the need for careful evaluation and planning of complex surgery and the successful surgical management option for correction of uterovaginal prolapse in patients with BE. A vaginal approach seemed to be a most sensible route to correct the prolapse in view of her previous multiple abdominal surgeries.

Pregnancy outcome after elective cervical cerclage in relation to type of suture material used

Cervical weakness is an important cause of late miscarriage and extreme preterm labour. Women have been traditionally offered a cervical cerclage procedure, though studies failed to demonstrate a therapeutic effect. None of these studies has addressed the effect of non-braided to braided suture material on cerclage outcome. Type of suture material is an important determinant of surgical outcomes. This issue is of particular relevance to cerclage because the traditionally braided suture has been associated with increased risk of infection in other surgical procedures. Indeed, infection is an important underlying cause for cerclage failure. It is for this reason that some surgeons use non-braided suture material. Therefore, we hypothesise that the unrealised benefit of cervical cerclage is at least in part due to the type of suture material used. In this article, we present the rationale behind our hypothesis and a proposed way of testing it.