Foetal salvage by Caesarean section in a case of maternal burn injury

Banerjee T, Karmakar A, Adhikari S
Correspondence: Dr Souvik Adhikari, souvikadhikari@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
Burn injury sustained during pregnancy is a serious clinical complication that requires individualisation of management. We describe the case of a 30-week pregnant woman who presented to the hospital in a state of shock with approximately 90% burn injuries. Resuscitation was carried out, and the patient’s family consented to an emergency Caesarean section in view of the grave prognosis of such burn injuries. A live male infant was delivered via emergency Caesarean section. However, the mother succumbed to her injuries two days after the operation, while the baby was successfully resuscitated and discharged after ten days. This case highlights the importance of timely decision-making and coordination, which are required to salvage a near-term foetus. It also underscores that emergent resuscitation and timely operative procedures might be able to salvage a living foetus, particularly in patients with burns covering more than 60% of total body surface area.

Keywords: burn, pregnancy, Caesarean section, resuscitation
Singapore Med J 2012; 53(11): e247–e248