Abnormal placentation (accreta, increta and percreta) has
emerged over uterine atony as the leading indication for
peripartum hysterectomy due to obstetric haemorrhage1.
Once a rare occurrence, morbidly adherent placenta
(Placenta accreta syndrome) is now becoming an
increasingly common complication of pregnancy, mainly
due to the increasing rate of Caesarean delivery about 10
times more over the past 50 years2.
Placenta accreta syndrome is the abnormal adherence
of the chorion of the placenta to the myometrium of
the uterus. Normally there is tissue intervening between
the chorionic villi and the myometrium, but in ‘placenta
accreta, the vascular processes of the chorion grow
directly in the myometrium. Placenta accreta can
progress into placenta percreta.