Abdominal surgery during pregnancy: a retrospective study of 23 patients.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to demonstrate that during pregnancy a large variety of non-gynaecological abdominal pathologies can be safely managed with surgery.


METHODS
The medical records of twenty-three patients that were pregnant and underwent open or laparoscopic surgery from 1997 to 2007 were reviewed.


RESULTS
Twenty-one of the 23 patients have given birth and all but one of the babies were healthy with normal weights, sizes, and APGAR scores. One patient had spontaneous termination of pregnancy one week after the surgical procedure and one patient is out of follow-up. Preterm partus was induced in three patients due to life-threatening conditions for the mother. Each laparoscopy was performed safely without peri-operative complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Open or laparoscopic abdominal surgery poses little or no additional risk for mother or child.
Vandaele
Sh
Sh
Department of Digestive, Laparoscopic and Thoracic Surgery, CHU Brugmann, ULB/VUB, Brussels, Belgium.
Thill
V
V
Simoens
Ch
Ch
Smets
D
D
Debergh
N
N
da Costa
P Mendes
PM
D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome