Morbid adherence of the placenta: lack of specificity should remind us that ultrasound is a screening tool

Excellent performance has been reported with prenatal diagnosis of abnormal placental invasion using ultrasound. We describe a case which illustrates the validity of ultrasound features of abnormally invasive placentation in women without previous caesarean delivery. CASE: Ms. CB, a 27 year-old G3 P1+1 was seen in her pregnancy at 36 weeks of gestation. Her first pregnancy was uncomplicated and she gave vaginal birth to a normally grown baby at term. Before the current pregnancy, she suffered a miscarriage in the first trimester, and underwent surgical evacuation. She suffered prolonged vaginal blood loss for which she was investigated, and a diagnosis of A-V malformation (AVM) was made on the basis of the ultrasound findings (Figure 1). She conceived spontaneously before intervention.