How is placenta accreta treated?

1 Answer
Apr 5, 2018

Placenta accreta occurs when all or part of the placenta attaches abnormally to the myometrium i.e. the muscular layer of the uterine wall.

Explanation:

If placenta accreta is diagnosed before birth the treatment may be delivery by Caesarean section and abdominal hysterectomy. Oxytocin and antibodies are used for post surgical management.

It there is partially separated placenta with focal accreta, best option is removal of placenta.

If it is important to save the woman's uterus for future pregnancies then resection around the placenta may be successful.
Conservative treatment techniques include :
- leaving the placenta in the uterus and curettage of the uterus
- intrauterine balloon catherisation to compress blood vessels
- embolism of pelvic vesicles
- internal iliac artery ligation
- bilateral uterine artery ligation

If there is invasion of placental tissue and blood vessels into the bladder it is treated in similar manner to abdominal pregnancy. However, this may eventually need hysterectomy and/or partial cystectomy.