2020 Online Salon
Internal Iliac Artery Ligation in Cesarean Hysterectomy

Project Details
- Entrant Name: Evelyn Lockhart
- Membership Type: Student Submission
- Address: Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
- Client: Faculty advisor: Michael Corrin; Content advisor: John Kingdom
- Copyright: 2019 Evelyn Lockhart
- Medium/software used: Savage Interactive Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
- Final presentation format: Print (single page for mock obstetric textbook)
- Primary Audience: Obstetricians
Project Description
Placenta percreta is a rare pregnancy complication where the placenta penetrates the wall of the uterus, invading adjacent organs. This complication can result in life-threatening hemorrhage at time of delivery, necessitating both a cesarean delivery of the infant and hysterectomy at time of delivery. For this assignment, a series of illustrations were created depicting the key steps in cesarean hysterectomy. The goal of this page is to demonstrate surgical ligation of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery (IIA) prior to hysterectomy. As the IIA is a major blood supply to the uterus, surgical hemostatic control is essential for preventing hemorrhagic complications. In this illustration, the relationship of the ureter to the retroperitoneal vasculature is emphasized. These anatomic landmarks are critical to identify to avoid erroneous ligature of the ureter, which can result in permanent urologic injury.