A 34-year-old woman presented to hospital in shock 8 hours after a spontaneous home vaginal delivery. She is a known carrier of haemophilia A. Examination revealed a tender but firm, central and contracted uterus. There was a small second-degree perineal tear which was not actively bleeding and no other trauma or bleeding visualised in the vault or cervix. Bedside ultrasound showed a large 1 L blood clot anterior to the empty uterus. Exploratory laparotomy was performed which revealed a haematoma in the Retzius space with extension beneath the anterior serosa of the bladder, through the left broad ligament and into the retroperitoneal space. Bleeding from the Santorini plexus was controlled with haemostatic sutures, reinforced with FLOSEAL and intra-abdominal packing. A CT angiogram and relook laparotomy the following day confirmed haemostasis and facilitated removal of intra-abdominal packs. This case demonstrates a very rare cause of postpartum retroperitoneal haemorrhage.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.