Placenta previa surgery
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Medical Therapy
An initial assessment to determine the status of the mother and fetus is required. Although mothers used to be treated in the hospital from the first bleeding episode until birth, it is now considered safe to treat placenta praevia on an outpatient basis if the fetus is at less than 37 weeks of gestation, and neither the mother or the fetus are in distress.
Immediate delivery of the fetus may be indicated if the fetus is mature or if the fetus or mother are in distress. Blood volume replacement (to maintain blood pressure) and blood plasma replacement (to maintain fibrinogen levels) may be necessary.
It is controversial if vaginal delivery or a ceasarean section is the safest method of delivery. In cases of fetal distress a Ceasarean section is indicated. Caesarian section is contraindicated in cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation.
A problem exists in places where a Ceasarean section cannot be performed, due to the lack of a surgeon or equipment. In these cases the infant can be delivered vaginally. There are two ways of doing this with a placenta praevia:
- The baby's head can be brought down to the placental site (if necessary with Willet's forceps or a vulsellum) and a weight attached to his scalp
- A leg can be brought down and the baby's buttocks used to compress the placental site
The goal of this type of delivery is to save the mother, and both methods will often kill the baby. These methods were used for many years before Ceasarean section and saved the lives of both mothers and babies with this condition.
The main risk with a vaginal delivery with a praevia is that as you are trying to bring down the head or a leg, you might separate more of the placenta and increase the bleeding.
Placenta praevia increases the risk of puerperal sepsis and postpartum haemorrhage because the lower segment to which the placenta was attached contracts less well post-delivery.