Special cesarean section in Covid-19 patient treatment area in Nghe An

On July 12, female patient NTTT entered the Covid-19 patient treatment area at the Department of Parasitology and Viruses, Center for Tropical Diseases, Nghe An General Hospital.

Patient NTTT, has an address in Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan district. The patient works and lives in Ho Chi Minh City with her husband. On July 11, 2021, after receiving a negative Covid-19 PCR test result in Ho Chi Minh City, patient NTTT boarded train SE 4 to return to her hometown in Trung Phuc Cuong commune. Upon returning to her hometown, the patient made a good local health declaration and quarantined herself at home. On July 12, 2021, the Nghe An CDC took a sample for Covid-19 PCR test and the result was positive.

The baby was born in the Covid-19 patient treatment area. Photo: Tat Ngoc

The NTTT case is a special case and contains many dangers and risks because the patient is pregnant for the first time at the 36th week, has a group II placenta, has a history of threatened miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy, both the patient and his wife are found to carry the recessive gene for hemolytic anemia; in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, the patient has symptoms of gestational diabetes. As well as the patient being infected with the Delta variant of Covid-19, the symptoms of the disease can become severe and progress very quickly... If the pregnancy is not terminated early, Covid-19 infection can affect the lives of both the mother and the baby.

In this urgent situation, Nghe An General Hospital organized a hospital-wide consultation with the participation of the Heads and Deputy Heads of relevant departments under the chairmanship and direction of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Huong - Director of Nghe An General Hospital. The decision was unanimously made: The pregnant woman had many underlying diseases and was infected with the Delta variant of Covid-19, and needed surgery to help the baby be born early.

However, this is a particularly difficult surgery, with potential risks for both mother and baby, and must follow the correct technical procedures to minimize the risk of Covid-19 infection from the mother to the baby because it is performed in a field operating room located separately from the Covid-19 patient treatment area. Surgeons must wear personal protective equipment.

The patient was decided to have a cesarean section to terminate the pregnancy at 9:00 a.m. on July 16, 2021, performed by Dr. Dinh Van Sinh - Head of Obstetrics Department and Dr. Dung - Deputy Head of Anesthesia and Resuscitation Department, Nghe An General Hospital... The baby girl weighed 2.7 kg and was born at 9:20 a.m. on July 16. The surgery ended successfully to the joy of the family as well as the entire surgical team, the Covid-19 treatment team of the Department of Parasitology and Viruses and the hospital leadership.

Nghe An General Hospital presented a gift worth 5 million VND to Ha An's family. Photo: Tat Ngoc

Immediately after the surgery, the baby girl was separated from her mother to be isolated and monitored for 14 days according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health, as well as being cared for and monitored by doctors and nurses specializing in Neonatal Pediatrics. The NTTT patient continued to be monitored, cared for after surgery and treated in the Covid-19 patient area.

The safe birth of the baby girl clearly demonstrated the coordinated efforts of the Covid-19 treatment team and the surgical team. In the shared joy of the extended family and the hospital leadership, with the authorization of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Huong - Director of Nghe An General Hospital, named the baby Dang Vy Ha An... The hospital also presented gifts to support the baby's family with an amount of 5 million VND.

After baby Dang Vy Ha An was born safely, her grandfather wrote a poem for her and the doctors, called "Thank you life". The poem's lyrics are as follows: "Mom got Covid-19/ When I was in her womb/ I was afraid my mom wasn't well/ I just kicked lightly/... It's been thirty-six weeks/ I have to come out, uncle/ So my mom can give me medicine/ To kill the Covid-19 virus/... I'm not afraid of anything/ Covid-19/ Mother and child unite/ Uncle, please operate on me/ ... I had to be isolated after birth/ I ate well and slept well/ Mom and doctor/ Are fighting the delta virus/... Grandma and I are back home/ Fighting with everyone/ Ha An is my name/ Thank you life!