Doctor travels 50km to save pregnant woman with critical hemorrhage

(Baonghean.vn)- After giving birth at Thanh Chuong District Hospital, the mother Vinh suffered from massive hemorrhage and fell into critical condition. Later, the mother was miraculously saved thanks to effective coordination.

On the afternoon of February 28, Nghe An General Hospital announced that after 1 week of active treatment, the mother Tran Thi Vinh in Hanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) who suffered from postpartum hemorrhage was saved in time thanks to effective coordination and support from the medical sector.

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Doctors urgently performed emergency surgery on pregnant woman Tran Thi Vinh. Photo by Hoang Yen

On February 20, after receiving an urgent call for help about a patient with postpartum hemorrhage from a lower-level hospital, a team of 5 specialist doctors led by Dr. Nguyen Danh Linh - Director of Nghe An General Hospital immediately set out. After traveling more than 50 km in the late afternoon, the ambulance sped along the route from Vinh City to Dung Town (Thanh Chuong).

Pregnant with her third child at 39 weeks, on February 20, the mother Tran Thi Vinh (31 years old) had her water break early. At 5:30 am, the mother was admitted to Thanh Chuong District Hospital to wait for delivery. At 1:30 pm the same day, after a period of using medicine to give birth using the "commanded birth" method, the baby girl weighing 3.2 kg was born to the joy of the whole family. However, immediately after giving birth, the mother Vinh fell into a critical state due to massive hemorrhage.

Ms. Vinh was quickly transferred to the operating room for emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. Although the doctors at the district hospital had completely removed her uterus, they were not able to completely resolve the issue, so the mother's bleeding continued. The situation became urgent, her blood pressure dropped rapidly, and her pulse became difficult to detect. The surgical team determined that the longer the bleeding lasted, the more difficult it would be for Ms. Vinh to survive. The plan to transfer the patient to a higher level could not be implemented because the supply of type B blood at the district hospital had run out; Ms. Vinh could die on the way.

Although the lower-level hospital tried to mobilize all staff with the same blood type to donate blood to the pregnant woman, the situation was still not optimistic. With the experience of a surgeon specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, in the dangerous situation, Meritorious Doctor, Doctor Nguyen Hai Linh - Director of Thanh Chuong District Hospital quickly called directly to BSCKII. Nguyen Danh Linh - Director of Nghe An General Hospital for support. With the motto "saving people like putting out a fire", the team of doctors including specialists: Obstetrics, Anesthesia and Resuscitation, Surgical Resuscitation and Hematology of the provincial hospital immediately set off for Thanh Chuong with a quantity of B blood. After 40 minutes of emergency, the team arrived at the District Hospital.

Recalling the moments of living in anxiety and panic because his wife was in critical condition, Mr. Vo Van Hung, husband of the pregnant woman Vinh, shared: “I was informed by the district hospital that my wife had hemorrhage, her condition was very serious, the family needed to mobilize brothers to find someone with blood type B to transfuse blood for my wife. My mood was confused, I really panicked. Seeing the hospital doctors going in and out very urgently, I could not sit still, looking forward to two things: waiting for the team of doctors from the provincial hospital to come back to save my wife, and waiting for my brothers to come up to donate blood. Before they could come up, I saw the team of doctors from the provincial hospital appear. As if a huge burden of anxiety had been lifted, like a drowning person grabbing a life preserver, watching the silhouettes of the doctors entering the operating room, I wished and hoped that the doctors would perform a miracle.”

Patient Tran Thi Vinh's health has improved. Photo: Hoang Yen.

And, not disappointing the hopes of Mr. Hung and his family, as soon as they arrived, the medical team immediately performed emergency surgery on the patient. “Because the mother had lost blood over a long period of time, when we arrived, she had circulatory collapse, dilated pupils; the pelvis was severely edematous, hematoma and massive bleeding at many points, making it difficult to determine whether the uterine artery or the internal iliac artery was damaged and causing bleeding. Using my own finger, I found the internal iliac artery and tied it. Then, I continued to find the bleeding points and completely stopped the bleeding. At the same time, 3 units of whole blood and 5 units of packed red blood cells were transfused to compensate for the lost blood. With a sense of urgency and the smooth coordination of the Anesthesia - Resuscitation - Surgeon team, within just 20 minutes of the team's arrival, the mother Vinh was saved" - BSCKII. Nguyen Danh Linh - Director of Nghe An General Friendship Hospital, chief surgeon said.

After the surgery, the doctors from Nghe An General Hospital continued to stay with Thanh Chuong Hospital to closely monitor the patient's post-operative condition. Five hours after the surgery, Ms. Vinh's condition was no longer critical. The ambulance carrying the patient and the doctors accompanying her to ensure safety on the road started to take the patient down to Nghe An General Hospital for further post-operative resuscitation treatment.

“My wife’s life is thanks to the enthusiasm, dedication and responsibility of the doctors. In a few days, my wife will be completely healthy, we will bring our baby who is being cared for at the District Hospital to reunite. We thought we would be separated by death, but now we are reunited, there is no greater happiness than that...”- Mr. Hung confided with joy.

BSCKII. Nguyen Danh Linh emphasized that the success of the case was thanks to the coordination of professional support between the provincial hospital and the grassroots medical facilities: Thanh Chuong District General Hospital handled the situation flexibly, which was to promptly call for help; as well as the Provincial Hospital always had a foreign emergency team ready, mobilizing human resources to support when the lower-level hospital needed it./.

Hoang Yen