Clinical evaluation of balloon occlusion of the lower abdominal aorta in patients with placenta previa and previous cesarean section: A retrospective study on 43 cases

• We investigated the efficacy of balloon occlusion of the lower abdominal aorta in patients with pernicious placenta previa.
• Patients treated with conventional cesarean section were controls or with preset abdominal aorta balloon as study group.
• The blood loss, transfusion of red cell suspension and the percentage of uterus resection in the study group were lower.
• The percentage of uterine cavity filling in the study group was higher.
• The balloon occlusion of low abdominal aorta seems effective in reducing postpartum hemorrhage.

BackgroundThis study investigated the efficacy of balloon occlusion of the lower abdominal aorta in cesarean section surgery for the patients with placenta previa and previous cesarean section.MethodsThe patients who had placenta previa and underwent cesarean section (CS) were evaluated. The patients treated with CS to terminate the pregnancy were used as control group (23 cases); the patients treated with the preset abdominal aorta balloon before CS was taken as study group (20 cases). The investigated indicators included the intraoperative blood loss, blood loss within postoperative 24 h, the transfusion amount of red cell suspension (RCS), hospital stay, incidence rate of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), the asphyxia, premature delivery and the mortality of the newborns.ResultsThe two groups are comparable. The intraoperative blood loss, blood loss within postoperative 24 h, the transfusion amount of RCS and the percentage of uterus resection in the study group were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that in the control group. The percentage of uterine cavity filling with ribbon gauze in the study group was higher than the control group (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe balloon occlusion of lower abdominal aorta seems effective in reducing postpartum hemorrhage and the blood transfusion and decreasing the risk of hysterectomy without harming the newborns.