Interventional radiology at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital helped a 21-year-old woman, who was diagnosed with uterine artery pseudo-aneurysm 10 days after delivery.
Vanitha (name changed) of Gummidipoondi underwent a caesarean section at Government Raja Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar (RSRM) Lying-in Hospital, Royapuram, and delivered a girl on November 10. Nearly 10 days later, she suffered from profuse bleeding.
“Sometimes, mothers might bleed continuously after delivery if the uterus does not contract. But this was not the case. So, they referred her to us. An ultrasound and colour doppler revealed she had pseudo-aneurysm in the uterine wall,” R. Sukumar, interventional radiologist at Stanley Hospital, said. The hospital is one of the few centres in the State to have a full-fledged interventional radiology unit.
Explaining her condition, he said the blood vessel supplying the uterus had ballooned and ruptured. “The uterine vessel is normally five to six mm. In this case, it expanded to around 30 mm. It was bleeding into the uterine cavity, causing the vaginal bleeding,” he said.
There are very few reported cases of uterine artery pseudo aneurysm, he said. “She had already undergone a caesarean section. If she had to be operated, then it could have caused difficulties. She would have had to undergo a hysterectomy,” he said.
Instead, Vanitha underwent a procedure called angioembolisation two days ago. A catheter was routed to the bleeding vessel. “This catheter carried a micro catheter to place the embolisation coil and particles to mechanically obstruct the artery that was feeding it,” he explained.
This procedure prevented blood loss as the patient had already received multiple units of transfusion and it also saved her uterus, he added.
Hospital dean S. Geethalakshmi said all the materials for such procedures were provided under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.
