Bridge Suture for Successful McDonald Emergency Cerclage.

OBJECTIVES: To create awareness about a surgical technique termed bridge suture, which is performed as a pretreatment before a McDonald cerclage is performed on an emergency to treat severe cervical insufficiency. METHODS: Procedures for bridge suture were reviewed in detail and outcomes of 16 patients treated with bridge suture followed by McDonald cerclage were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: Using the bridge suture, the edges of uterine cervix were temporarily sutured and the external uterine os was closed, while the hourglass-shaped fetal membranes were concomitantly confined within the cervix; subsequently, a McDonald cerclage was performed. Over a 22-year period, 16 patients with a dilated cervix and bulging fetal membranes were treated using the technique of bridge suture followed by an emergency cerclage. The mean gestational age at cerclage was 22.5 weeks; the mean gestational age at delivery was 30.7 weeks; and the mean interval between cerclage and delivery was 8.2 weeks. In 15 out of 16 cases, cerclage was performed without encountering any complications. No maternal complications, including cervical laceration, were observed. The mean body weight of 17 neonates, including that of a twin, was 1,516 g and of them, 15 neonates survived. CONCLUSION: The important outcome of bridge suture is the replacement of fetal membranes back into the uterine cavity before McDonald's cerclage is performed. Pretreatment with bridge suture may facilitate the performance of a successful emergency cerclage and contribute to good maternal and neonatal outcomes.

[Retrospective analysis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation].

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is one of the serious adverse side effects of calcineurin inhibitors, which are used for the prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). We retrospectively analyzed 12 patients who developed PRES after allo-SCT aiming to clarify the clinical features, risk factors, and prognosis of PRES. Median onset of PRES is 17 days after allo-SCT. The most frequent primary symptom was high blood pressure, followed by headache and visual disturbance. Nine of our patients subsequently developed systemic seizure. Sites of PRES by MRI were detected in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, basal ganglia, and brain stem in addition to occipital lobe. Serum creatinine that had increased two-fold from the baseline value was identified as the only risk factor for developing PRES after allo-SCT. The incidence of acute GVHD (grade II-IV) in patients with PRES and those without were 88.9% and 48.7%; respectively (P<0.001), and most of these patients died of GVHD or GVHD-related causes. The 2-year overall survival of patients with PRES and those without were 16.7% and 72.4%, respectively (P<0.001). These data suggested the importance of early intervention for PRES and exploitation of optimal GVHD prophylaxis after developing PRES.