Minimally Invasive Interventional Treatments Effective for Pregnant Women

Interventional radiology treatments are making childbirth safer for women who have Caesarean sections (C-sections) that are complicated by massive bleeding, according to a new study.

Researchers at an at Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston, MA, USA) conducted a retrospective study that followed 13 women (ages 28-44) over a period of more than two and a half years who urgently needed embolization to control bleeding after a C-section. Since bleeding complications after C-sections are uncommon, and can happen either immediately after the C-section or up to several weeks after the delivery, there was limited information about the outcome of the different treatment methods, and researchers analyzed trends or patterns in their hospital course and treatment outcomes.

The researchers found that overall (regardless of any of the clinical circumstances) bleeding following C-section was stopped promptly and effectively with minimal complications by embolization procedures performed by interventional radiology. Additionally, the women who were treated tended to need fewer blood transfusions, had shorter hospital stays, and did not have recurrence of bleeding. The study was presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 34th annual scientific meeting, held during March 2009 in San Diego (CA, USA).

"With embolization, interventional radiologists can block life-threatening bleeding immediately and effectively - from the inside out," said study presenter interventional radiologist Michael Stecker, M.D. "Interventional radiology treatments avoid open surgery, general anesthesia, a long recovery time and other serious risk factors associated with surgical control of the bleeding. In preventing the need for hysterectomy, embolization may preserve a woman's uterus, allowing her to have other children."

Embolization is a well-established technique that blocks blood vessels, controlling hemorrhage. Interventional radiologists guide a catheter up a uterine artery using X-ray imaging. Once at the site of bleeding, clotting agents, such as tiny sponge-like gelfoam particles (the size of a grain of sand) or small metal coils are released to block an injured vessel and stop the bleeding.

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