27/08/2023
AJOG Expert Review in Labor: Uterine-sparing surgical procedures to control postpartum hemorrhage - B-Lynch’s technique of uterine compression by plication
A, Diagram. The technique described here begins on the left side:
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The needle crosses the anterior wall of the uterus approximately 3 cm under the still open, unsutured incision to 3 cm from the left lateral edge of the left uterus.
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It goes back through the anterior wall of the uterus and emerges 3 cm above the incision, still approximately 3 cm from the left lateral edge of the uterus. Steps (1) and (2) describe the first “passage” of the needle.
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The suture travels up the anterior wall of the uterus, crosses the top of the fundus, and descends down the left posterolateral wall.
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The needle pierces the posterior wall and enters the uterine cavity at the same level of the preceding suture point (3 cm above the incision), that is, in the superior portion of the uterine body-isthmus junction, always approximately 3 cm from the left lateral edge of the uterus.
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The needle again pierces the posterior wall at the same horizontal level as the previous suture point, but this time, at approximately 3 cm from the right lateral edge (the other side) of the uterus. Steps (4) and (5) describe the second passage of the needle.
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The suture, now on the posterior wall of the uterus, moves up toward the uterine fundus along the right lateral edge of the uterus, to descend down the right anterolateral wall.
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It returns back through the anterior wall of the uterus and emerges 3 cm above the incision, still approximately 3 cm from the right lateral edge of the uterus.
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The needle again crosses the anterior wall of the uterus, this time approximately 3 cm above the (still unsutured) incision. Steps (7) and (8) describe the third passage of the needle.
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The incision is then sutured according to the usual technique.
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Both ends of the suture (straight needle, No. 0 polyglactin 910) are then put under tension, helped by the assistant's manual compression, to be able to press one wall against the other. Both sutures are then tied at a lower level of the lower segment, under the now sutured incision.
B, Intraoperative view of myometrial brace compression by B-Lynch https://ow.ly/shmc50PCNhT