A Case of Acardiac Twin / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Acardiac twinning affects 1 in 100 monozygotic twin pregnancies and 1 in 35,000 pregnancies overall. This condition is characterized by the absence or rudimentary development of fetal heart, and associated with various anomaly. The presence of an acardiac twin requires the normal (or "pump") twin to provide circulation for itself, as well as the acardiac sibling. The acardiac malformations are uniformly fatal in the affected twin, and mortality in the co-twin is as high as 55%. The principal perinatal problems associated with acardiac twinning are pump-twin congestive heart failure, maternal hydramnios, and preterm delivery. We recently experienced a case of acardius anceps associated with a normal male infant, so present with a brief review of the literature.

A Clinical Study on the Vaginal Delivery after Previous Cesarean Birth / 대한산부인과학회잡지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcome and safety of vaginal delivery after previous cesarean birth. METHODS: This study was based on 303 cases of delivery with previous cesarean birth at Masan, Fatima Hospital from May, 1997 to April, 1998. Among them, 62 cases had performed trial of labor. We had made a comparison between elective repeat section group and trial of labor group by analizing the frequency, successful rate, maternal morbidity, perinatal morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Among 303 cases with previous cesarean birth, trial of labor was done in 62 cases(20.5%). Among trial of labor group, vaginal delivery was done in 54 cases (87.1%) and repeat section was done in 8 cases(12.9%). Indications for elective repea section before the onset of labor were refuse trial of labor(51.9%), request for tubal ligation(17.4%), and previous section > or =2(7.5%), etc. The successful rate of vaginal delivery according to indication for previous cesarean birth was 85.0%(17/20) in the cases of dystocia and 88.1%(37/42) in the cases except dystocia. The successful rate was not influenced by the indication for previous cesarean birth(P>0.05). There were no maternal death or uterine rupture in the cases of trial of labor. There were no significant difference between elective repeat section group and trial of labor group in maternal morbidity, perinatal morbidity and mortality(P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Under strict indications, vaginal delivery subsequent to cesarean birth may be safe, and can reduce the rate of cesarean section that was increased constantly.