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

**Authors:** Vittoria Olivieri, Piera Caro, Maria Rosaria Pagano, Claudia Casella, Attilio Di Spiezio Sardo

PMC · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.104391 · 2026-02-27

## 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.

## Key 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.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** placental abruption (MONDO:0004846), fetal growth restriction (MONDO:0005030)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** Placental Abruption (MESH:D000037), Placental Prolapse (MESH:D010922), obstetric (MESH:D048949), fetal growth restriction (MESH:D005317), vaginal bleeding (MESH:D014592)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Figures

1 figure with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13033328/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13033328