Successful treatment of total placenta previa by multidisciplinary therapy in a Jehovah’s Witness patient who refused blood transfusions

Abstract

A 35-year-old Jehovah’s Witness patient with total placenta previa was referred to our hospital at 30 weeks of gestation. She refused autologous and allogeneic blood transfusions, but agreed to receive acute normovolaemic haemodilution, intraoperative blood salvage and biological products. At 35 weeks, she underwent emergent caesarean delivery because of labour pains. Multidisciplinary therapy, including the insertion of balloon catheters into the bilateral common iliac arteries, acute normovolaemic haemodilution and intraoperative blood salvage, avoided hysterectomy; however, blood loss included amniotic fluid which was estimated to be 1910 mL. These treatments may be effective for total placenta previa in blood-refusal patients.