An operation that was never before carried out in the UK has saved the life of a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Polly Marshall was 29 weeks pregnant when she went under the knife at St George’s Hospital in London last June.
She had been admitted to hospital with severe abdominal pain. Doctors found a pseudoaneurysm, or swelling, in an artery in her uterus that supplied blood to her baby, reports the Evening Standard.
The swelling was at risk of bursting, which would have had dire consequences for Polly and the baby.
Doctors managed to close off the swelling in an emergency procedure. It was the first time this progressive surgery had been performed in Britain.
“The major concern was that this was a hole in a blood vessel that could burst at any point,” said Dr Kevin Hayes, the consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist who diagnosed the pseudoaneurysm.
“If it did, it would be extremely serious and life-threatening. The swelling in Polly’s artery was 5cm in diameter and getting bigger.
“Blood flow through this artery is particularly strong during pregnancy, so we knew doing nothing was not an option.”
The operation was a success and Polly was able to carry on her pregnancy until 38 weeks, when she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Gus, by planned Caesarean section on 5 September.
Six months on, Polly and baby are doing well.
“I feel so incredibly grateful for all the amazing care we had for the whole time at St George’s,” she said. “I always felt in safe hands.”
