INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Injury to the perineum during vaginal childbirth affects millions of women. One half to three quarters of parturients undergo some degree of perineal laceration during vaginal…
BRIEF HISTORY OF FETAL SURGERY Print Section Listen Sir William Liley (1963) completed the first successful fetal surgery, which was transuterine fetal intraperitoneal red blood cell transfusion. This was performed…
INCIDENCE Print Section Listen Trauma is one of the most common reasons for emergency room visits during pregnancy. The exact incidence is unknown, although trauma is estimated to complicate approximately…
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Pelvic masses during pregnancy have historically posed diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas for the obstetrician. Maternal mortality rates with surgery were prohibitive through the early 20th century….
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Modern anesthesia practice has an excellent record of safety for the parturient. The anesthesia-related maternal mortality rate in the United States is estimated at 1 per…
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen It is not uncommon for pregnant women to undergo invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, including surgical operations. In these cases, gravidas present a dual challenge. Namely,…
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen The first laparoscopies in pregnancy were performed in the early 1990s. Since then, laparoscopy has been widely adopted as an alternative to laparotomy for the diagnosis…
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen During pregnancy, several conditions may necessitate operative procedures on the vulva, vagina, or cervix. Of surgeries, cervical cerclage is one of the more common. Other procedures…
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Invasive prenatal diagnosis allows vital details to be obtained regarding the fetus that can include genetic, biochemical, or physiologic data. This chapter describes amniocentesis, chorionic villus…
INTRODUCTION Print Section Listen Although surgical methods of abortion have changed little in the past 50 years, the expanding interest in pharmacologic agents has both increased reproductive options and broadened…
