Placental Abruption and Partial Placental Prolapse During Labor Induction With a Cervical Double Balloon (Cook Catheter) in a 37-Year-Old Patient

TL;DR

A 37-year-old woman experienced placental abruption and partial prolapse during labor induction with a cervical double-balloon catheter, highlighting a rare but serious complication.

Contribution

This paper reports the first case of placental abruption with partial prolapse during labor induction using a cervical double-balloon catheter.

Findings

Placental abruption occurred shortly after insertion of a cervical double-balloon catheter.

The presence of the catheter may obscure early clinical signs of placental abruption.

Emergency cesarean delivery was required due to the complication.

Abstract

Placental abruption is a major obstetric emergency. To date, no cases of placental abruption associated with partial placental prolapse during labor induction with a cervical double-balloon catheter have been reported. We describe the case of a 37-year-old nulliparous woman (G2P0010) with a pregnancy conceived by assisted reproductive technology and complicated by late-onset fetal growth restriction. At 39 weeks of gestation, labor induction was initiated using a cervical double-balloon catheter because of an unfavorable cervical status. Shortly after insertion, the patient developed acute placental abruption with partial prolapse of a posteriorly inserted placenta, requiring emergency cesarean delivery. This case highlights that placental abruption may occur in temporal association with mechanical cervical ripening and underscores the potential for delayed diagnosis when a cervical double-balloon catheter is in place, as early clinical signs such as vaginal bleeding may be partially obscured.

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