Balloon displacement during caesarean section with pernicious placenta previa: A case report

Abstract

BACKGROUND For the past few years, preventive interventional therapy has been widely used domestically and overseas, bringing great benefits to pregnant women at high-risk for complications, such as pernicious placenta previa (PPP) and placenta accreta. Nevertheless, there are still few reports on surgical complications related to interventional therapy, and its safety should be a concern. CASE SUMMARY We report a 36-year-old pregnant woman with PPP who underwent balloon implantation in the lower segment of the abdominal aorta before caesarean section. However, the balloon shifted during the operation, which damaged the arterial vessels after filling, resulting in severe postpartum haemorrhage in the patient. Fortunately, after emergency interventional stent implantation, the patient was successfully relieved of the massive haemorrhage crisis. CONCLUSION It seems that massive postoperative bleeding has been largely avoided in preventive interventional therapy in high-risk pregnant women with placenta-related diseases, but surgical complications related to intervention therapy can also cause adverse consequences. It is equally important for clinical doctors to learn how to promptly identify and effectively treat these rare complications.