Pregnancy in a woman with uterine procidentia: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Uterine prolapse in pregnancy is rare and can either occur during pregnancy or be present before the pregnancy. We present a case of a successful pregnancy in a patient with preexisting uterine procidentia. CASE: A 44-year-old woman with a history of complete uterine prolapse presented with an unplanned pregnancy. Upon initial presentation at 15 weeks she had uterine prolapse with cervical elongation that protruded 10 cm past the introitus. The prolapse persisted until about 30 weeks, during which it was conservatively managed with bed rest, knee-chest positions and local treatment of the desiccated cervix with emollients. The patient had an uncomplicated vaginal delivery and underwent a vaginal hysterectomy, anterior-posterior repair and a sacrospinous ligament fixation a few months later. CONCLUSION: Uterine prolapse in pregnant women with preexisting prolapse will probably resolve in the third trimester without treatment. An otherwise uncomplicated course and a vaginal delivery can be expected.

Use of packing in obstetric hemorrhage of uterine origin.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the safety and effectiveness of uterine packing to stop hemorrhage in obstetric patients following delivery and pregnancy termination. STUDY DESIGN: A review of obstetric records at Children's Hospital of Buffalo in a 9-year period was undertaken. Patients with uterine packing were identified. Indications, additional medical and surgical procedures, estimated blood loss, postoperative complications and packing material used were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 9 patients were identified among 34,071. Five patients had hemorrhage during cesarean section. Two patients had hemorrhage after vaginal delivery; 1 case of which had failure with packing and resulted in postpartum hysterectomy. The remaining 2 patients had hemorrhage after dilation and evacuation. Uterine atony unresponsive to oxytocics was the most common indication for uterine packing (44%). The average hematocrit decrease was 10.4% (average total blood loss, 2,200 mL), and all patients received transfusion except 1. The only immediate postoperative complications occurred in a patient with postpartum hysterectomy after failed packing; she developed a pelvic abscess but did well after drainage. CONCLUSION: Uterine packing may be a reasonable alternative to further surgical intervention in patients with intractable obstetric hemorrhage who wish to preserve fertility.