HYSTEROTOMY FACILITATION OF THE VAGINAL DELIVERY OF THE POSTERIOR ARMIN A CASE OF SEVERE SHOULDER DYSTOCIA

Background: Shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency that can be re solved usually with one or a series of maneuvers performed vaginally. On rare occasions these maneuvers may fail, and the obstetrician must employ less familiar techniques to achieve delivery. Case: A 30-year-o ld, gravida 6, developed a severe shoulder dystocia while delivering a 5970 g infant. Classical vaginal maneuvers failed due to the severity of the impaction. After general anesthesia was induced, additional ma neuvers such as cephalic replacement and transabdominal rotation also failed. The dystocia was resolved ultimately by a transabdominally-fac ilitated vaginal posterior arm delivery followed by transabdominal sho ulder rotation and vaginal extraction. Conclusion: In catastrophic cas es of shoulder dystocia, transabdominal performance or facilitation of traditional vaginal maneuvers may lead to resolution. (Obstet Gynecol 1998;92:693-5. (C) 1998 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.).