Zavanelli maneuver

The Zavanelli maneuver is an obstetric maneuver that involves pushing back the delivered fetal head into the birth canal in anticipation of performing a cesarean section in cases of shoulder dystocia.^[1][2]

The Zavanelli maneuver is performed only after other maneuvers have failed, as it is associated with high risk to both the mother and the fetus.^[3][4] A review published in 1985 found that 84 of 92 cases of Zavanelli maneuver were successful in replacing the head of the fetus back into the uterus.^[2] Risks of the maneuver to the mother include soft tissue damage and puerperal sepsis. The Zavanelli maneuver is not performed very often in the United States.^[4] It is named after William Angelo "Bill" Zavanelli (born October 10, 1926), who performed the procedure on January 18, 1978 as a clinical instructor in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco.^[5]

See also

• McRoberts maneuver
• Wood's screw maneuver
• Shoulder dystocia
• Treatment of shoulder dystocia
• The mechanics of birth

References

1. Baxley EG, Gobbo RW (April 2004). "Shoulder dystocia". Am Fam Physician. 69 (7): 1707–14. PMID 15086043.
2. Sandberg, EC (June 15, 1985). "The Zavanelli maneuver: a potentially revolutionary method for the resolution of shoulder dystocia". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 152 (4): 479–84. doi:10.1016/s0002-9378(85)80161-7. PMID 4014342.
3. Kish, Karen; Joseph V. Collea (2003). "Malpresentation & Cord Prolapse (Chapter 21)". In Alan H. DeCherney (ed.). Current Obstetric & Gynecologic Diagnosis & Treatment. Lauren Nathan (Ninth ed.). Lange/McGraw-Hill. p. 382. ISBN 0-07-118207-1.
4. Gabbe, Steven G. (January 2012). Obstetrics : normal and problem pregnancies (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Elsevier/Saunders. p. 412. ISBN 9781437719352.
5. Baskett, Thomas F. (2019). "Zavanelli, William Angelo (b. 1926)". Eponyms and Names in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Cambridge University Press. pp. 461–2. doi:10.1017/9781108421706.369. ISBN 9781108336710.