LETTERS

An alternate maneuver for shoulder dystocia

I wish to add a postscript to the excellent article “Delivery dilemmas: shoulder dystocia,” by Drs. Gimovsky and Michael [December]. For many decades, traditional rescue techniques for this unforeseeable emergency changed little—until the Zavenelli maneuver (vertex replacement followed by emergency cesarean section) came along several years ago. Perhaps others had attempted this process but never reported it. I have an alternative maneuver to suggest.

Returning to my hometown in northeastern Pennsylvania from an academic residency at the University of Pennsylvania in 1978, I had to adjust my obstetrical techniques and adopt new skills to practice in one of the nation’s pioneer hospitals for family-centered obstetrics: Nesbitt Memorial Hospital.