The Surgical Technique of Caesarean Section: What is Evidence Based?

Caesarean section is the most frequent obstetric operation which is associated with increased maternal morbidity and mortality. Although these risks are low, affected women may suffer from severe consequences and this may affect subsequent pregnancies and deliveries. A variety of surgical approaches have been described, however, on low evidence level. The objective of this chapter is therefore to systematically search the literature and analyse the available evidence including preoperative workup, prophylactic antibiotics, skin disinfection, preoperative bladder catheterization as well as details of the individual steps of the actual operation itself such as skin incision types, preparation of soft tissue and womb, removal of the placenta, cervical dilatation and stitching of the womb, peritoneum, rectus muscle, fascia, subcutaneous fat, and skin. We systematically searched for meta-analysis, systematic reviews, and big studies and evaluated the evidence for each individual step