Are abdominal muscles cut during a CS?
No, not usually and when they are it should be in the direction of the muscle, so that the fibre of the muscle should on the whole remain intact. It is rare to use a knife or other cutting implement other than for the skin and for small incisions in the peritoneum (the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity) and the wall of the uterus which are then extended “bluntly” – usually using a finger. So, usually the skin is cut, the abdominal/rectus muscles underneath are separated, then a small cut is made in the peritoneum which is then torn apart further (and may or may not be repaired). Then a small cut is also made in the uterus which is also enlarged by tearing. There is good evidence that tissue that has been torn rather than cut heals better. The following description comes from the NICE CS guideline www.nice.org.uk/cg013 “Pfannenstiel, Maylard and Joel Cohen all described transverse abdominal wall incisions used for CS. The Pfannenstiel incision consists of a curved skin incision,
No, not usually and when they are it should be in the direction of the muscle, so that the fibre of the muscle should on the whole remain intact. It is rare to use a knife or other cutting implement other than for the skin and for small incisions in the peritoneum (the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity) and the wall of the uterus which are then extended “bluntly” – usually using a finger. So, usually the skin is cut, the abdominal/rectus muscles underneath are separated, then a small cut is made in the peritoneum which is then torn apart further (and may or may not be repaired). Then a small cut is also made in the uterus which is also enlarged by tearing. There is good evidence that tissue that has been torn rather than cut heals better. The following description comes from the NICE CS guideline www.nice.org.uk/cg013 “Pfannenstiel, Maylard and Joel Cohen all described transverse abdominal wall incisions used for CS. The Pfannenstiel incision consists of a curved skin incision,
