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Delivery complicated by postpartum hemorrhage and lower extremity compartment syndrome
Benjamin D Byers1, Phaelon H Silva, Edward R Kost
1San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, Brooke Army Medical Center and Wilford Hall Unites States Air Force Medical Center, Texas, USA. Benjamindbyers@yahoo.com
Background:
Extremity compartment syndrome is a rare surgical complication in which increased intracompartmental pressure threatens the viability of the muscular and nervous tissue. We report a case of a delivery complicated by postpartum hemorrhage and a lower extremity compartment syndrome.
Case:
A multigravida in her late 20s was admitted for induction of labor at 41 weeks of gestation. She underwent a cesarean delivery for a nonreassuring fetal heart rate tracing. The delivery was complicated by severe postpartum hemorrhage due to uterine atony, resulting in a cesarean hysterectomy. The patient developed a lower extremity compartment syndrome and underwent an emergent anterior tibial fasciotomy.
Conclusion:
Extremity compartment syndrome is rarely encountered in obstetric care; however, there may be an association with severe postpartum hemorrhage.
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