The prevalence of uterine isthmocele, also known as a uterine niche, has risen in parallel with increasing cesarean section (CS) rates, affecting approximately 60% of women depending on their history of cesarean deliveries. This condition, now categorized as cesarean scar disorder (CSD) by the "Delphi consensus," is characterized by one primary or two secondary symptoms. Diagnosis can be made through transvaginal ultrasound, sonohysterography, hysteroscopy, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Management of isthmocele may involve pharmacological or surgical interventions. This review aims to provide a thorough analysis of the surgical management options, focusing on postoperative symptom relief, intraoperative and postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and impact on secondary infertility. PubMed was comprehensively searched for observational studies from inception to 07.08.2024. Surgical treatments include hysteroscopic resection, laparoscopic procedures, and vaginal approaches, all of which offer comparable symptom relief. However, the vaginal approach is associated with a longer hospital stay. The robotic-assisted approach shows promising results but lacks extensive data. Among surgical options, hysteroscopic treatment has the fewest complications but is generally avoided when residual myometrial thickness (RMT) is less than 3 mm. While many CSDs remain asymptomatic, and some women with uterine isthmocele may not wish to conceive, symptomatic patients or those desiring to conceive may benefit from surgical intervention. The choice of procedure should be based on individual patient characteristics, particularly RMT, to define the most appropriate surgical approach.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Cesarean scar defect, also known as niche, isthmocele, uteroperitoneal fistula and uterine diverticulum, is a known complication after cesarean delivery. Due to the rising cesarean delivery rates, niche has become more common and can present as irregular bleeding, pelvic pain, infertility, cesarean scar pregnancy and uterine rupture. Treatments for symptomatic cesarean scar defect vary and include hormonal therapy, hysteroscopic resection, vaginal or laparoscopic repair, and hysterectomy. We report on the safety and efficacy of our method of repairing cesarean scar defects in 27 patients without adverse outcomes: two-layer repair where the suture does not enter the uterine cavity. Our method of laparoscopic niche repair improves symptoms in nearly 77% of patients, restores fertility in 73% of patients, and decreases the time to conception.

Previous cesarean section, oxytocin administration, and fetal macrosomia increase the risk of uterine rupture or dehiscence (URD).All 25,718 deliveries at Riverside Regional Medical Center from January 1990 to June 2000 were reviewed to describe complications and identify risk factors for URD.Eleven uterine ruptures and 10 dehiscences occurred during this period (0.08%). One maternal death (5%) and three neonatal deaths (14%) occurred. Other complications included intrapartum nonreassuring fetal status (67%), 5-minute Apgar score < 7 (52%), maternal blood transfusion (24%), neonatal hypoxic injury (14%), hysterectomy (14%), and endometritis (10%). Uterine rupture/dehiscence was independently associated with fetal weight > or = 4,000 g, nonreassuring fetal status, use of oxytocin, and previous cesarean delivery; internal fetal monitoring reduced the risk of URD.To reduce the risk of URD, a delivery plan should include assessment of cesarean history and fetal macrosomia,judicious use of oxytocin, and intrapartum monitoring for nonreassuring fetal status.

To develop a model to predict the success of a trial of vaginal birth after Cesarean section (VBAC) based on sonographic measurements of Cesarean section (CS) scar features, demographic variables and previous obstetric history.We used transvaginal sonography (TVS) to examine the CS scar of 320 consecutive pregnant women. TVS was carried out at 11-13, 19-21 and 34-36 weeks' gestation and prospective measurements of the scar were recorded at each visit according to a defined protocol. A logistic regression model to predict success of VBAC was developed for those patients with a visible scar on ultrasound and only one previous CS. The model was evaluated using bootstrap validation.There were 131 women with one previous CS and a visible scar, of whom 10 underwent CS prior to labor and were excluded from analysis. Successful VBAC was achieved in 74/121 (61%) of the remaining cases. The prediction model developed was based on patient age, previous history of VBAC, residual myometrial thickness (RMT) and the change in RMT from the first to the second trimester (ΔRMT). The internally validated area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve was 0.62 when measurements of RMT and ΔRMT were excluded, but 0.94 when scar information was incorporated into the model.Ultrasound measurements of CS scar, namely RMT and the change in RMT from the first to the second trimester of pregnancy, when incorporated into a mathematical model, can predict accurately a successful trial of labor in patients with one previous CS.Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Caesarean section rates are rising worldwide. One adverse effect of caesarean section reported in some studies is an increased risk of subfertility. Only a few studies have assessed the relationship between the previous mode of delivery and in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) reproductive outcomes. In this study, we primarily investigated the impact of a history of caesarean section with or without defects on IVF/ICSI-ET outcomes compared to a vaginal delivery history.

Uterine surgical scarring is an increasing risk factor for adverse pregnant consequences that threaten fetal-maternal health. The detailed molecular features of scar implantation remain largely unknown. We aim to study the pathologic features of uterine surgical scarring and the mechanisms of compromised pregnancy outcomes of scar implantation. We generated a mouse model of uterine surgical scarring with a uterine incision penetrating the myometrium to endometrium to examine the pathologic changes and transcriptome profiles of uterine scarring at various postsurgery (PS) time points, as well as features of the feto-maternal interface during scar implantation. We found that uterine surgical scar recovery was consistently poor at PS3 until PS90, as shown by a reduced number of endometrial glands, inhibition of myometrial smooth muscle cell growth but excessive collagen fiber deposition, and massive leukocyte infiltration. Transcriptome annotation indicated significant chronic inflammation at the scarring site. At the peri-implantation and postimplantation stages, abnormal expression of various steroid-responsive genes at the scarring site was in parallel with lumen epithelial cell hyperplasia, inappropriate luminal closure, and disorientation of the implanted embryo, restricted stromal cell proliferation, and defective decidualization. High embryonic lethality (around 70%) before E10.5 was observed, and the small amount of survival embryos at E10.5 exhibited restricted growth and aberrant placenta defects including overinvasion of trophoblast cells into the decidua and insufficient fetal blood vessel branching in the labyrinth. The findings indicate that chronic inflammation and compromised responses to steroids in uterine scar tissues are the pivotal molecular basis for adverse pregnancy consequences of scar implantation.

The aim of this study was to examine the current status and management of secondary infertility following cesarean section in Japan.

To evaluate transvaginal repair versus laparoscopic repair of cesarean scar defects (CSDs).A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 67 symptomatic women with CSDs who attended a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China, between July 1, 2013, and March 31, 2017. The participants underwent either transvaginal repair (n=31) or laparoscopic repair (n=36). Medical costs, perioperative outcomes, and surgical outcomes were compared.No statistically significant between-group differences were found at baseline. The mean thickness of the residual myometrium increased from 1.71 ± 0.67 mm before surgery to 4.41 ± 2.09 mm after surgery in the transvaginal repair group (P<0.001), and from 1.81 ± 0.93 to 4.68 ± 1.96 mm in the laparoscopic repair group (P<0.001). The duration of menses after surgery was less than 10 days in both the transvaginal repair group (n=30, 96.3%) and the laparoscopic repair group (n=30, 83.9%; P=0.113). Operative time and medical costs were both lower in the transvaginal repair group than in the laparoscopic repair group (P<0.001). Conception rates for the two groups were similar among women who desired fertility.Transvaginal repair of CSD was associated with reduced operative times and medical costs when compared with laparoscopic repair.© 2019 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical data of laparoscopic repair with hysteroscopy of cesarean scar diverticulum (CSD).

Cesarean scar defect (CSD), especially CSD with residual myometrium less than 3 mm is reported to be the highest risk agent associated with uterine rupture for subsequent pregnancy. Currently, laparoscopic resection and suture was the mainstay therapy method for CSD with a residual myometrium less than 3 mm in women with a desire to conceive. Besides, the women have CSD related symptoms, especially postmenstrual bleeding, should be recommended for CSD treatment. This study is to investigate the efficiency of this novel laparoscopic surgery for the repair of cesarean scar defect (CSD) without scar resection for residual myometrium thickening.