Uterine scar rupture at the site of the placenta accreta presenting as a case of sudden death

Swapnil Prabhakar Akhade; Pankaj Suresh Ghormade; Ajay Bhengra; Krishnadutt Chavali; Nighat Hussain

doi:10.4322/acr.2020.226

Uterine scar rupture at the site of the placenta accreta presenting as a case of sudden death

Autops Case Rep. 2020 Dec 8:11:e2020226. doi: 10.4322/acr.2020.226. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Swapnil Prabhakar Akhade¹, Pankaj Suresh Ghormade¹, Ajay Bhengra², Krishnadutt Chavali¹, Nighat Hussain^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
² Hazaribagh Medical College, Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, India.
³ All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Department of Pathology, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.

Abstract

Uterine rupture during pregnancy is a known complication of placenta accreta. This paper presents a case of sudden maternal death in the 27^th week of gestation due to a ruptured uterine scar at the site of placenta accreta with a short inter-pregnancy period of 6 months with previous two C-sections. Autopsy findings revealed a massive hemoperitoneum and a thinned out anterolateral uterine wall. Internal examination revealed clotted and fluid blood in the peritoneal cavity with rupture of the anterior uterine wall at the site of the placenta accreta in a healed cesarean section scar. Placenta accreta is a rare complication of pregnancy. However, it is becoming more frequent and a significant risk factor with the increasing rate of C-section.

Keywords: Cesarean Section; Maternal Death; Placenta Accreta; Pregnancy Complications; Uterine Rupture.

Publication types

Case Reports