[Evolution of the parietal incision in cesarean sections].

This concerns a multicenter study including 51 centers of the North, Picardy and Champagne areas, 35 public institutions and 16 private institutions. This study was carried out on 7,216 records of Caesarean sections, collected between 1978 and 1983. The objective of this study was to specify maternal and fetal morbidity in Caesarean sections. In this study, the authors attempted to establish a correlation between this morbidity and the parietal incision, as well as compare the responsibility of each of the two incisions that were performed: midline infraumbilical and Pfannenstiel's incision. From a neonatal standpoint, they have demonstrated that the type of parietal incision has no bearing on the condition of the child at birth, in spite of a slightly longer extraction time in the Pfannenstiel incision. From a maternal standpoint, they found a similar number of wall abscesses and wound dehiscence. Abdominal wall hematomas are slightly more frequent with the Pfannenstiel incision and this difference is significant. The reservations formulated concerning transverse incisions and especially the Pfannenstiel incision do not appear to be justified.