Large Vaginal Hematoma in a Puerperium Patient: Treating a Delayed Diagnosis & Management Caused by an Incomplete Clinical Examination

Here, we report a case where the lack of pelvic examination in a puerperium patient led to a delay in diagnosis and appropriate management of a large posterior vaginal wall hematoma for about a month. The patient had a history of difficult vaginal breech delivery of a macrosomic asphyxiated baby 28 days prior, following which, she started having gradually increasing distension of the abdomen, inability to void urine and pass stools by herself, and a history of fever on and off. Her family members took her to a private hospital for a consultation, where she was examined and assessed. However, a pelvic examination was not done. A CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis showed a large organized hematoma of size 13.6cm×11.1cm×10.5cm with a volume of 802 ml in the pouch of Douglas. Following this report, diagnostic laparoscopy was done on day 10 of puerperium where a large hematoma was seen beneath the peritoneum in the pouch of Douglas without any intraperitoneal collection. As the hematoma was not seen to be expanding, conservative management was done with 5 units of blood transfusion and antibiotic coverage, and the patient was discharged. However, the patient’s symptoms were not relieved due to which she presented to us on day 28 of puerperium with the same symptoms. On pelvic examination, purulent, foul-smelling discharge was present in the vagina, and a huge tense bluish bulge was seen in the posterior vaginal wall more towards the right side obliterating the whole vagina. After taking informed consent and with proper pre-operative preparations of laparotomy, the hematoma was drained vaginally, and approximately 1300 ml of blood and clots were removed, following which, the patient had a speedy recovery and relief of her symptoms.