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A vaginoplasty is a surgical procedure that tightens the vagina. This is done by removing excess vaginal lining and tightening the surrounding soft tissues and muscles. During delivery of a baby the vagina and surrounding tissues and muscles become stretched. After delivery the vagina may return to a more “normal” size, but it often fails to return to its’ pre pregnancy diameter. Generally, the more vaginal deliveries, the worse the condition gets. Many women will complain of decreased sensation and sexual satisfaction during intercourse. Commonly this is due to a lack of friction. Often their partner may notice a change although he may say nothing. Kegel exercises are often recommended but rarely succeed in restoring vaginal tightness.
A breech birth is the birth of a baby from a breech presentation. In the breech presentation the baby enters the birth canal with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head first presentation.
There are either three or four main categories of breech births, depending upon the source:
* Frank breech - the baby's bottom comes first, and his or her legs are flexed at the hip and extended at the knees (with feet near the ears). 65-70% of breech babies are in the frank breech position.
* Complete breech - the baby's hips and knees are flexed so that the baby is sitting crosslegged, with feet beside the bottom.
* Footling breech - one or both feet come first, with the bottom at a higher position. This is rare at term but relatively common with premature fetuses.
* Kneeling breech - the baby is in a kneeling position, with one or both legs extended at the hips and flexed at the knees. This is extremely rare, and is excluded from many classifications.
As in labour with a baby in a normal head-down position, uterine contractions typically occur at regular intervals and gradually cause the cervix to become thinner and to open. In the more common breech presentations, the baby’s bottom (rather than feet or knees) is what is first to descend through the maternal pelvis and emerge from the vagina.
At the beginning of labour, the baby is generally in an oblique position, facing either the right or left side of the mother's back. As the baby's bottom is the same size in the term baby as the baby's head. Descent is thus as for the presenting fetal head and delay in descent is a cardinal sign of possible problems with the delivery of the head.
In order to begin the birth, internal rotation needs to occur. This happens when the mother's pelvic floor muscles cause the baby to turn so that it can be born with one hip directly in front of the other. At this point the baby is facing one of the mother's inner thighs. Then, the shoulders follow the same path as the hips did. At this time the baby usually turns to face the mother's back. Next occurs external rotation, which is when the shoulders emerge as the baby’s head enters the maternal pelvis. The combination of maternal muscle tone and uterine contractions cause the baby’s head to flex, chin to chest. Then the back of the baby's head emerges and finally the face.
Due to the increased pressure during labour and birth, it is normal for the baby's leading hip to be bruised and genitalia to be swollen. Babies who assumed the frank breech position in utero may continue to hold their legs in this position for some days after birth.
Patient Greg Grindley communicates with host Bryant Gumbel and his wife for the first time while undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery at University Hospital's Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
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Greg's First In-Surgery Conversation | Brain Surgery Live
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Amniotomy is the official term for artificially breaking the bag of waters during labor. It is believed that breaking the bag of waters will help to speed up an otherwise slow labor. Amniotomy is part of the Active Management of Labor practiced in some hospitals. Amniotomy is performed by a midwife or doctor. A long, thin instrument with a hook on the end is inserted into the vagina and through the cervix so it can catch and rip the bag of waters. To perform an amniotomy, the cervix must be dilated enough to allow the instrument through the cervix, generally at least a two. Why choose Amniotomy? Unlike other medical methods of starting labor, amniotomy does not add synthetic hormones to your labor. Instead it seems to stimulate your body’s own labor process. Amniotomy allows the use of an internal electronic fetal monitor. How effective is Amniotomy? Amniotomy alone is unpredictable, it may take hours for labor to start with amniotomy. Because amniotomy increases the risk for infection, most caregivers use amniotomy in combination with synthetic oxytocin. Birth does happen faster when amniotomy is combined with synthetic oxytocin than when amniotomy is used alone. Risks of Amniotomy Risks for Mother Increases the risk for infection. This risk is increased with length of time the waters are broken and with vaginal exams. Because of the infection risk, a time limit is given by which the mother must give birth. As the time limit approaches attempts to progress labor will become more aggressive. The fore waters equalize pressure on the cervix so it will open uniformly. When they are broken, the mother increases her chances of having uneven dilation. Risks for Baby Increases the risk of umbilical cord compression. The fore waters equalize pressure on the baby’s head as it presses against the cervix. When they are broken, the pressure on the baby’s head may be uneven causing swelling in some parts.
To record the sequence, Stephan Gordts and Ivo Brosens of the Leuven Institute for Fertility & Embryology in Belgium performed transvaginal laparoscopy, which involves making a small cut in the vaginal wall and observing the ovary with an endoscope.
"This allows us direct access to and observation of the tubo-ovarian structures without manipulation using forceps," says Gordts.
For the photos of ovulation, which only accidentally captured the critical moment, Jacques Donnez at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Brussels, Belgium, used gas to distend the organs for photography. However, Gordts and Brosens planned the procedure to coincide with ovulation and used saline solution to "float" the structures.
Perfect timing
Observation was timed for the day of the peak of the patient's luteal hormone cycle. Ovulation was predicted to occur on the evening of the day of the LH peak, and the endoscope introduced at 6 pm.
A small amount of saline was used to float the opening of the fallopian tube, its fimbriae (the "fingers" that sweep the egg into the tube) and the ovary itself. This gives a more natural appearance than gas, says Gordts.
In the video, the fimbriae can be seen sweeping in time with the patient's heartbeat. A mucus plug can be seen protruding from the ovary – this contains the egg.
"The ovum is not captured 'naked'," says Gordts. "There is no eruption like a volcano."
Gordts says that in clinical practice it is not easy to organise the observation of ovulation. "We were probably lucky to be successful at our first attempt," he says.