Overview
The Vessel Course and the Fetal Hazard
Picture a garden hose lying loose across a doorway instead of buried safely in the wall.
NCLEX-RN
NCLEX-RN
Picture a garden hose lying loose across a doorway instead of buried safely in the wall. That is vasa previa. Vasa previa is an obstetric condition in which unprotected fetal blood vessels travel within the fetal membranes over or near the internal cervical os, without protection from placental tissue or Wharton's jelly. The vessels sit in the path of the presenting part, and they sit in the part of the membranes most likely to tear. Vasa previa is present when fetal blood vessels run through the membranes across the cervix or close to it. There are no standardized criteria for how close the vessels must be. A threshold of 2 cm from the internal cervical os has been proposed and is widely used, but it is not proven safe; some experts counsel patients when unprotected vessels lie between 2 cm and 5 cm of the os. So a report of "more than 2 cm" does not make the vessels harmless, and the plan stays with the obstetric team. These vessels are vulnerable to compression or rupture during labour, cervical dilation,...
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