Arterial embolisation in intractable primary post-partum haemorrhage: case series.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of arterial embolisation in the management of intractable primary post-partum haemorrhage. DESIGN. Retrospective case series. SETTING Regional hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS Nine patients aged 28 to 39 years who were treated for severe primary post-partum haemorrhage between October 2000 and January 2003. INTERVENTION Emergency transcatheter arterial embolisation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Clinical outcome and complications. RESULTS All nine arterial embolisations successfully arrested the haemorrhage. The main cause of primary post-partum haemorrhage was uterine atony. No serious complication arose, although one patient experienced slight numbness of the right leg. Normal menstruation resumed in all patients, except for the one who had had a hysterectomy as initial treatment. One patient became pregnant 1 year after embolisation. Patients were followed up for 10 months. CONCLUSION In our experience, arterial embolisation is safe and efficacious, and is the treatment of choice for patients with intractable primary post-partum haemorrhage.