Gynecol Obstet Invest

Omental evisceration after laparoscopic treatment of a tubal pregnancy. A case report and review of the literature.

Haeusler G. Tempfer C. Gitsch G. Hanzal E.
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of Vienna, Austria.
The increasing use of the laparoscopic surgery in the management of gynecologic diseases resulted in an increasing incidence of complications and the development of new complications. Postoperative complications are uncommon after laparoscopy. The most common complication is incisional herniation. A rare form of port-associated complications is omental evisceration. Since herniation through trocar incision sites might implicate severe complications, the use of safety techniques should be applied on a routine basis to reduce laparoscopy-associated morbidity.

Three-dimensional ultrasonographic assessment of the umbilical cord during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy.

Year 1998
Hata T. Aoki S. Hata K. Miyazaki K.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shimane Medical University, Izumo, Japan.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the umbilical cord and its abnormalities by use of three-dimensional ultrasonography with a specially developed abdominal three-dimensional transducer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ninety-five pregnancies (92 normal, 2 with hydrops fetalis, and 1 with omphalocele) from 14 to 40 weeks of gestation were studied with a specially developed abdominal three-dimensional transducer (3.5 MHz). This system can provide conventional two-dimensional ultrasonography images and can also generate within seconds high-quality three-dimensional images in the surface and transparent mode with no need for an external workstation. A proportion of the umbilical cords (coiled or noncoiled free loop, abdominal insertion, and placental insertion) visualized at each gestational age interval is presented. RESULTS: The proportion of the umbilical cords visualized during pregnancy except for between 24 and 27 weeks of gestation was about 70% (range 64-83%). Optimal visualization of the umbilical cord was achieved between 24 and 27 weeks of gestation. During this period it was possible to adequately depict the umbilical cord in 93% of the cases. The proportions of the noncoiled umbilical cord depicted during pregnancy ranged from 8 to 45%. The detection rate of abdominal insertion of the umbilical cord visualized at 14-19 weeks was 44%; the detection rate decreased thereafter. Placental insertion of the umbilical cord could not be identified after 28 weeks of gestation. In 2 cases with hydrops fetalis, edematous umbilical cord was evident. In 1 fetus, omphalocele was clearly depicted. CONCLUSIONS: The new three-dimensional ultrasound technology generates within seconds high-quality three-dimensional images of the umbilical cord, although limitation of viewing direction exists. These results suggest that the new three-dimensional ultrasonography has the potential to be a supplement to two-dimensional ultrasonography and might be useful in identifying abnormal umbilical cords in utero.