Surgical management of placenta accreta: a 10-year experience

To examine maternal morbidity in primary surgical management of placenta accreta.

Retrospective case series.

Quaternary perinatal referral center in Melbourne, Australia.

Clinically suspected and histologically confirmed cases of placenta accreta, increta and percreta.

Women were identified from our hospital database coded for placenta accreta, increta, percreta and peripartum hysterectomy. Relevant details were sought from medical records.

Predefined maternal morbidities: blood loss, transfusion requirements, surgical complications, reoperation rate, duration in hospital. Predefined neonatal outcomes: gestational age at birth, birth-weight, admission to intensive (NICU) or special care nurseries (SCN), respiratory distress syndrome.

Between 1999 and 2009, 33 women were diagnosised with invasive placentation. A total of 27 were confirmed histologically after hysterectomy: 12 accreta, one increta, and 14 percreta. Median blood loss was 2 L. There was a 1.8-L reduction in mean blood loss with elective vs. emergency hysterectomy (p = 0.04). Nearly two-thirds of women required four or more units of packed red-blood-cells. Half of the women suffered from surgical complications, mostly from bladder injury. The risk of returning to theater for further surgery was 20%. Women with placenta percreta were more likely to require additional blood products (p = 0.03), sustain renal tract injury (p = 0.003) and require intensive care admission (p = 0.002).

A primary surgical approach to management of placenta accreta is associated with significant maternal morbidity, even when managed in a dedicated quaternary perinatal referral center.