Nonobstetrical abdominal surgery during pregnancy in Women's Hospital

To determine if nonobstetrical abdominal surgery during pregnancy in Women's Hospital at the University of Southern California School of Medicine was associated with increased rates of preterm delivery or spontaneous loss. Preoperative diagnostic accuracy was also evaluated.

We performed a retrospective review of all cases of nonobstetrical abdominal surgery in our institution during a 7-year period from November 1991 to November 1998.

One hundred-six cases of nonobstetrical abdominal surgery were identified. Eighty-eight women underwent laparotomy and 18 had laparoscopic abdominal surgery. Seventy-three women had emergent surgery and 31 had elective surgery. Seventy-six percent (80/106) of subjects had the same preoperative and postoperative diagnoses. We obtained delivery data for 62 of 106 (59%) subjects. Eleven of 62 (18%) subjects who had nonobstetrical abdominal surgery during pregnancy delivered preterm (<37 weeks' gestation). This was not significantly different from the institutional preterm delivery rate of Women's Hospital (8999/56305 [16%]) (P = 0.84). Two of 106 (2%) women experienced spontaneous pregnancy loss following surgery; both occurred in the second trimester.

Nonobstetrical abdominal surgery during pregnancy in Women's Hospital was not associated with higher frequencies of preterm deliveries or spontaneous losses than our institutional rates.