Emergency Obstetric Hysterectomy : A study of 26 cases over a period of 5 years

OBJECTIVES To study the cases of obstetric hysterectomy over a 5-year period (June 1996-May 2001) in a teaching hospital to determine the incidence, indications and associated complications with a view to suggest ways of improving outcome. METHOD Twenty-six obstetric hysterectomies performed during the study period were analyzed. RESULTS During the study period there were 26 cases of obstetric hysterectomy out of 33371 deliveries giving an incidence of 0.0779%. The incidence of hysterectomy following vaginal delivery was 0.0106% and that of cesarean hysterectomy was 0.39%. Majority of the patients were unbooked (76.9%) and were in the age group of 26-35 years (65%). Common parity group was parity 3 and 4. Morbid adherence of placenta was the commonest indication contributing to 26% (7/26) of the cases. There was no maternal death in the study. CONCLUSIONEmergency obstetric hysterectomy is a rare operation (1 in 1284 deliveries). In spite of intra-operative risk and possible postoperative complications, it remains a potentially life-saving procedure.