Postpartum Spontaneous Intrahepatic Hemorrhage and Hepatic Rupture in the HELLP Syndrome.

Yoon, Eun Suk; Yoon, Jun; Kim, Mi Ryoung; Hyun, Woo Young; Lee, Hyun Woo; Na, Yang Won; Seo, Jae Hee

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2004;47(10):1991-1995.
Published online October 1, 2004.

Postpartum Spontaneous Intrahepatic Hemorrhage and Hepatic Rupture in the HELLP Syndrome.

Eun Suk Yoon, Jun Yoon, Mi Ryoung Kim, Woo Young Hyun, Hyun Woo Lee, Yang Won Na, Jae Hee Seo

¹Department of Obstetrics AND Gynecology, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea.
²Department of Surgery, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea.
³Department of Surgical Pathology, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea.

Abstract

The HELLP syndrome, which is characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets, complicates 4 to 14% of preeclamptic or eclamptic pregnancy. Its course is usually benign except when spontaneous hepatic rupture, a rare catastrophic event, threatens life. The authors have experienced one case of spontaneous hepatic rupture in HELLP syndrome during immediate postpartum period, which was treated with surgical intervention on the first postpartum day. We report this case with a brief review of the literatures.

Key Words: Hepatic rupture, HELLP syndrome