[Which surgical strategy to adopt for the management of postpartum haemorrhage and how to improve the effects of hypogastric arteries ligation?] / Quelle stratégie chirurgicale adopter devant une hémorragie du post-partum et comment améliorer les résultats de la ligature des artères hypogastriques?

The objective were to identify the success factors of bilateral hypogastric arteries ligation and to assess its role in surgical treatment of postpartum hemorrhages. We conducted a retrospective study of all the cases of postpartum hemorrhage requiring surgical treatment between January 2008 and December 2011. The study included 88 patients (0,47% of all births). Uterine atony was the most common etiology (64,8 % of patients). Bilateral ligation of the hypogastric arteries was performed in 81.8% of patients. When surgery was the first choice treatment, its success rate was 66%. This rate was variable depending on the etiology of hemorrhage, the presence or the absence of hemostasis disorders and the time between diagnosis and surgical treatment. In case of uterine atony, the association with a second conservative technique, when the first was inadequate, helped stop the bleeding in 98% of cases. Ligation of hypogastric arteries is an effective surgical technique for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. Its success rate has increased thanks to early implementation and to the association with other conservative techniques.

Clinical and anatomic features of acardiac twins.

OBJECTIVE: To report 6 cases of acardiac twins, and to investigate prognostic factors that would lead to survival of the normal twin. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: During a 9-year period from 1993 to 2001, 6 cases of acardiac twins out of 109,000 deliveries at the Maternity Center, Tunis, Tunisia were studied. Detailed inspection, X-rays, ultrasound and autopsies were performed. RESULTS: Prenatal diagnosis was made in only 1 case at 33 weeks of gestation. Rudimentary cardiac tissue was observed in 2 of the 6 perfused twins, and the cephalic pole was less developed than other parts of the body. Severe agenesis or hypoplasia of the thoracoabdominal organs was commonly observed. Many limb malformations were observed, with arms the most affected. One of the pump twins was stillborn, 3 died between days 1 and 3 from respiratory distress, and 2 developed cardiac failure after birth and were treated with diuretics and digoxin, which led to a favorable outcome in only 1. The ratio of the weight of the acardiac to pump twin (TWR) ranged from 50 to 142%. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that acardia can be diagnosed by means of ultrasound in front of a monochorial twin pregnancy when one of the fetuses is deformed and has no cardiac activity. Heart failure and polyhydramnios, as well as a TWR greater than 50% are prognostic factors for the pump twin.