Successful delivery of spontaneously conceived twins in a single horn of a bicornuate uterus: A case report.

Uterine malformations are associated with infertility, recurrent miscarriage and preterm birth, to variable degrees. Accurate classification is crucial to management. A 30-year-old primigravida presented with spontaneous conception of monochorionic diamniotic twins in the right horn of a bicornuate uterus, previously diagnosed as a didelphys uterus. At 28 + 5 weeks of gestation, the patient had preterm prelabour rupture of membranes followed by preterm labour, resulting in the patient undergoing an emergency caesarean section, with the successful delivery of live twin males.

Curved versus straight scissors to avoid 3rd and 4th degree perineal tears: a randomised feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Severe perineal tears sustained during childbirth cause significant distress and morbidity amongst women. The objective of this study was to compare the use of straight scissors for cutting an episiotomy with the use of curved scissors, which are designed to curve away from the anal sphincter. METHODS: We used a single-centre, randomised feasibility trial. The intervention was the use of curved scissors. Women were recruited during a prenatal visit and randomised in the delivery suite, when it became clear that an episiotomy was required. The feasibility outcomes were the proportion of women able to be recruited, randomised and followed up. We also calculated the incidence of obstetric anal sphincter injury when either straight or curved scissors were used to cut an episiotomy. Other outcomes assessed were pain, length of hospital stay, perineal infection and perineal dehiscence. RESULTS: Of the 155 patients recruited in the prenatal period, only 20 (12.9%) were eventually randomised at birth. The main reasons for the high loss were that women either did not have a vaginal delivery (38, 24.5%), or they did not need an episiotomy (72, 46.5%). Rates of obstetric anal sphincter injury and other outcomes were similar between groups. DISCUSSION: Anal sphincter injury during childbirth remains an important problem. Although the use of curved scissors provides a theoretical solution, we found that the high attrition rate made feasibility of conducting a suitably powered, randomised trial using the current design untenable. Alternative strategies have been suggested to make any future study more viable.

Moyamoya disease in pregnancy: maintenance of maternal blood pressure.

Moyamoya disease is a rare cerebrovascular occlusive disorder characterized by stenosis in the circle of Willis with the development of a compensatory circulation. It has been associated with significant morbidity in pregnancy including intracranial haemorrhage, ischaemic stroke and epilepsy. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman with a previous diagnosis of moyamoya vasculopathy with bilateral superficial temporal to middle cerebral artery bypass grafting. During the second trimester, she developed significant neurological symptoms related to postural hypotension in the presence of a stenosis of the right-sided graft. The hypotension was treated with fludrocortisone therapy with improvement in blood pressure and symptoms. Moyamoya vasculopathy poses unique challenges to obstetric care. This is the first report of use of fludrocortisone for maintenance of blood pressure during pregnancy in this condition.