Approximately 1/500 pregnant require non-obstetric surgery. Surgical care for the pregnant women raises concern for complications adversely pregnancy outcomes. The most common reason for surgery is acute appendicitis followed by gallbladder disease. Some studies have investigated the impact of a subset of emergency general surgery on maternal outcomes during pregnancy but none have looked at the array of emergency general surgery operations on fetal outcome. In recent decades, the advent of laparoscopic techniques has improved recovery time in the general population and has become the standard of care for some disease processes. Studies have reported safe maternal outcomes for laparoscopic interventions. Despite the common incidence of non-obstetric surgery among pregnant women little is known regarding fetal outcome and the impact of laparoscopic interventions vs. traditional open procedures. Even less is known about the role of nonoperative management of general surgical disease in the pregnant population.
Inclusion Criteria
- Pregnant women with non-obstetric acute general surgical disease
- 18 years or older
Exclusion Criteria
- Patient suffered trauma
- Unable to consent
- Minor
Study Requirements
The study is prospective and observational. The patients that are pregnant and undergoing a non-obstetric surgery will be consented, then followed through the duration of their pregnancy and up to a month after the neonate is born. They will receive the same standard of care at Tufts Medical Center as if they were not in the study. All of the information collected will be through the medical record system.
