A mother and her premature baby were both saved by a team of doctors at a hospital in Dubai who performed a perimortem (near-death) Caesarean section on the mother who had a near-fatal cardiac arrest.
Indian mom Maryam Mohd Kalim Siddiqui was rushed to International Modern Hospital (IMH) on Sunday (May 26) after having seizures at home due to hypertension. She was 27 weeks pregnant and her blood pressure shot up to 181/110 mmHg. It was her second pregnancy and she also suffered from hypertension five years ago when she gave birth to twins. A provisional diagnosis of eclampsia was made and treatment was immediately initiated at the emergency room for her seizures and convulsions.
Ten minutes after arriving at the hospital, Maryam had another seizure, went into cardiac arrest, and code blue was immediately initiated. Her heart stopped for more than 30 minutes. Doctors at IMH continued CPR for half an hour that eventually led to spontaneous circulation of blood. Maryam was given inotropes to support her blood pressure. She was intubated and transferred to the ICU for post-cardiac arrest care.
Given the critical situation and the gestational age of the fetus (27 weeks), the medical team at IMH immediately decided to perform a perimortem cesarean section to save the lives of both the mother and her unborn baby after the mother suffered a cardiac arrest.
Thankfully, both mother and baby showed their strong will to survive. Maryam gave birth to a baby boy named Musa. On Monday, the mother recovered without any neurological deficits. She has to remain in the ICU for a couple more days. Baby Musa, who weighed 1.3kg at birth, also remains in NICU to get round-the-clock care from doctors and nurses.
The successful outcome of this rare and complex case highlights the importance of effective teamwork and coordination in emergency situations. Our team's prompt and coordinated efforts led to the successful saving of two lives in an exceptionally challenging scenario.
