The hallmark of obstetrics is that even the normal birthing process begins very often at the most “inopportune” time. And some of the most disastrous complications can happen suddenly with no warning, when one is just not prepared, and in some cases, in a perfectly normal patient. The specialty involves taking quick firm decisions. One must understand that other surgical specialties have the (relative) luxury of time for planning. One can keep the patient nil orally, wait for the availability of blood products to be confirmed, and can defer the surgical intervention at least till daybreak in most instances. But obstetricians have to do everything simultaneously; time is a luxury that they cannot afford. One cannot justify a bad outcome by saying “I waited for the vascular surgeon to arrive to begin the case because internal iliac artery ligation was required,” “I waited for general surgeon/my senior colleague to arrive because the case was difficult,” etc. Disastrous complications like fetal demise, uterine rupture, and progression from early DIC to irreversible shock can happen in a matter of minutes, even before blood investigation reports (CBC, PT, APTT) can arrive.

An obstetrician must explain the situation to relatives and take consent for the proposed procedure, convince the anesthetists about the urgency, arrange blood (well, where in the world can we expect 6 FFPs and 6 PCVs for the rare AB negative blood group to be available right away or for that matter arranged within 24 h), document the findings, give orders, call for extra helping hands, and inform ICU to keep a bed with ventilator ready-all in a matter of minutes. Though one may not practice high-risk cases, they are inevitable; every obstetrician-gynecologist will encounter them at some point of time. Sometimes seemingly normal patients deteriorate in a matter of minutes.

Though very often the intervention can be postponed for a few hours till daybreak or till a colleague arrives, this should not become a habit, a justification for obstetricians. Every case has to be individualized.

One must remember, postpartum hemorrhage requiring internal iliac artery ligation or hysterectomy, and a ruptured uterus with torrential internal bleeding are straightforward obstetric conditions. Expecting other surgeons to come at an unearthly hour to assist an obstetrician for what is an out-and-out an obstetric condition is impractical. Even medicolegally, it would be untenable for an obstetrician to defend his/her case by saying that a more experienced colleague was not around. A practicing obstetrician should be able to perform an emergency caesarean section even in the presence of conditions like thrombocytopenia, full-blown DIC, liver failure, heart failure, renal failure, etc. To work under pressure is a “given” for an obstetrician. One must call a fellow obstetrician for help and must simultaneously start moving-that should be the mantra.

Another dictum one should remember is that though normal delivery is the best for heart disease, DIC, severe pre-eclampsia, renal disease, or any condition where heavy bleeding is anticipated, it is better to do a neat and clean LSCS than a difficult vaginal delivery. For example, if the pelvis is borderline or if it is a case of previous LSCS [1, 2], it is better to do an LSCS when some blood products are available and experienced colleagues are around to help than performing it after a prolonged second stage when tissues are edematous and friable. It will be very difficult to suture the margins of a thinned out lower uterine segment, and the vaginal and perineal tears (in the case of a traumatic vaginal delivery), and the baby may also be born asphyxiated.

Another disadvantage an obstetrician-gynecologist must keep in mind is that when other surgeons encounter a sticky situation, they can very well manage it themselves, or by calling a senior colleague of the same specialty. So when an ophthalmologist encounters a problem while operating on the eye, he can manage it himself or by calling an ophthalmologist colleague. It is unlikely that he will ever need a neurosurgeon. Similarly, a ureteric injury when encountered by a urologist can be repaired by the urologist himself, a bowel injury encountered by a surgeon can be repaired by the surgeon himself.

But a gynecologist does not have that luxury. A rent in the posterior wall of the bladder, the bladder base involving the trigone, ureteric injuries, bowel injuries, and injuries to pelvic vessels, all require a surgeon trained in the concerned specialty. What a gynecologist must remember is that ureteric injuries in the pelvis are usually something that requires ureteric reimplantation since lower one third of ureter is the least vascular segment [3, 4]. It is a fact, something that has not changed over the years; gynecological procedures are the commonest cause of ureteric injuries [3, 4]. Similarly, injuries involving the large intestine might require colostomy since large intestine is poorly vascularized as compared to the small intestine. Transverse injuries to the mesentery, mesosigmoid, and mesocolon may require resection anastomosis since it means that the blood supply to the concerned segment of intestine has been cut off [5].

It is always better to plan a difficult case with an experienced colleague or another surgeon than call him midway for obvious reasons.

An obstetrician-gynecologist must always remember that unlike other surgeons, they are at a disadvantage because medicolegally they are not in a position to manage any injury involving the ureter, bowel, bladder, or the mesentery unless it is just a serosal injury of the bowel with no outpouching of the mucosa, a vertical tear in the mesentery with no purplish discoloration of the affected bowel segment of bowel, or a rent in the dome of bladder, not involving the posterior wall or trigone. One must call a more experienced colleague—a fellow obstetrician-gynecologist—to begin a difficult case, so that the injury can be avoided in the first place. One must prevent a situation where an injury has occurred due to carelessness or lack of expertise, and another surgeon has to be called midway. If it is known preoperatively that the disease involves the bowel or the ureter, like extensive endometriosis, and if bowel and ureteric surgery is required, then a surgeon or a urologist should be present right from the beginning. It is always preferable to call a fellow gynecologist with the experience and the expertise required for the particular case since a fellow gynecologist will be duty bound by ethics to be available in the event of any suboptimal outcome. Having a colleague of the same discipline is of immense support because the person will be involved with all aspects of patient care—patient counseling, fertility issues, etc. A fellow gynecologist can take charge if one is suddenly unable to manage the patient due to an unforeseen event like illness or a family emergency. But surgeons of other specialties will be concerned only with their territory. For example, a urologist will be concerned only with ureteric and bladder component of the surgery.

Should in situ findings turn out to be a complete surprise-something that was not suggested in preoperative assessment, then the gynecologist must immediately tell the relatives and quickly decide what the most prudent thing to do would be-to go ahead with the surgery by calling a more experienced colleague or close and reschedule the surgery with adequate preparation for a later date. But if a problem like bleeding or an injury has already occurred, it has to be managed appropriately then and there; there is no question of closing and rescheduling the surgery to a later date. But the incident must be critically evaluated at a later date.