Montreal gynecologists use new technique to treat rare and dangerous placenta percreta

A diagnosis like placenta percreta can mean much more than a risky pregnancy — it can mean losing their uterus and the chance to grow their family.

Until recently, that was often the only outcome, but doctors at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal are now using a new surgery technique that can save the uterus and offer hope to women facing this rare and dangerous condition.

“The team is not only us, the gynecologist, but also the high-risk pregnancy obstetrician, the anesthesiologist. We’re all a big team that works together for these kind of big cases,” said Dr. Simon Benoît-Dubé, a gynecologist at CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital.

“Basically, when a woman gets pregnant, the placenta is formed to help the baby survive and to grow. [Placenta] acreta is usually not invasive into the uterus, into the muscle of the uterus. But in certain very rare cases [placenta percreta], there can be a pathology where the placenta will actually invade like a cancer.”

Placenta percreta is one of the most dangerous pregnancy complications — doctors say up to eight per cent of women worldwide do not survive, largely because surgery carries a high risk of severe bleeding. 

“It’s quite rare actually. It’s probably one in 300 cases. However, because the amount of C-sections have increased in the last 20 years, we see it more and more often,” said Dr. Benoît-Dubé.

Now, Dr. Benoît-Dubé is using a new surgery technique learned from French specialist Dr. Olivier Morel, who recently came to CHU Sainte-Justine to share his approach.

“It’s not for everyone. The surgery itself is quite complicated and has a lot of complications and risk. So we have to select our patient very carefully. However, for people who are really willing to go through other pregnancies or want to keep that option, it’s something that we can offer if they are the right candidate.”

So far, eight women at CHU Sainte-Justine have undergone the procedure, with their uterus preserved, and the chance to have children in the future.

“The team is very, very excited as we haven’t had really any bad complications and all the cases were done and were successful. So we’re really, really proud as a team to be able to offer this to patients around Quebec,” said Benoît-Dubé.