Management of postpartum hemorrhage in a patient with bicornuate uterus using the B-Lynch suture. Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the use of the B-Lynch suture in a case of postpartum hemorrhage of a woman with bicornuate uterus, and to carry out a review of the literature on PPH control strategies in patients with müllerian anomalies, maternal outcomes in terms of hemorrhage control, as well as early and late complications.

Material and methods: Case report of a patient with bicornuate uterus who presented to a regional referral hospital with postpartum hemorrhage following a cesarean section, which was successfully controlled using the B-Lynch suture. A search was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Medline, Google Scholar and LILACS databases. The MeSh terms used were: “Uterine Atony,” “Postpartum Hemorrhage,” “Immediate Postpartum Hemorrhage,” “Bicornuate Uterus,” “Müllerian Anomalies,” “Müllerian Duct Abnormalities”. Case reports and case series of patients with müllerian malformations and PPH not responding to initial pharmacological management in whom conservative surgical procedures were used to control bleeding were included. A narrative analysis of the findings was carried out based on study characteristics, techniques used and complications.

Results: Five studies were selected, 4 case reports and 1 case series which included 12 women with uterine malformations who developed PPH and in whom surgical management (uterine compression sutures) or devices (intrauterine balloon) were used for hemorrhage control. Bleeding was successfully controlled in 11 cases, with hysterectomy required only in one case (8.3 %). No long-term complications were reported.

Conclusions: The literature on PPH management in women with müllerian uterine malformations is limited to case reports in which either compression sutures or medical devices such as intrauterine balloons were used. The B-Lynch-type compression suture appears to be a good option for controlling PPH in these women in order to preserve fertility, with a low rate of complications. Further documentation of these types of cases is needed in order to build the evidence regarding the usefulness of this technique for controlling postpartum uterine bleeding in this population.