Retained placenta around which the uterus firmly contracted occurs in about 1% of all vaginal deliveries and may require uterine muscle relaxation to facilitate manual extraction. It is associated with profuse hemorrhage and life threatening shock. Therefore anesthesiologist may face the difficulty to provide analgesia and rapid uterine relaxation. A 32-yr-old multigravida was transferred to the emergency room in hypovolemic shock state at 1 hour after vaginal delivery. Ketamine 30 mg, fentanyl 50 mcg were given intravenously for analgesia and sedation. Oxygen 6 L/min was supplied via face mask. With ongoing fluid resuscitation, nitroglycerin 500 mcg was injected as an intravenous bolus. Within 80 seconds, the uterus relaxed enough to extract the retained placenta. The recovery of uterine muscle tone occurred approximately 1 minute after manual removal with administration of intravenous methylergonovine. In summary, the use of intravenous nitroglycerin may be a useful and safe alternative to general anesthesia in cases of manual removal of retained placenta.