BACKGROUND: There is little evidence for counseling patients who seek uterine conservation in the setting of placenta accreta.
CASE: We report the case of a 37-year-old woman with retained placenta accreta after vaginal delivery. Attempts at transvaginal removal failed, and the placenta was removed through a fundal hysterotomy with bilateral uterine artery ligations performed to control blood loss. She conceived a second pregnancy 11 months later and sustained spontaneous fundal uterine rupture at 26.5 weeks of gestation with a recurrent accreta found at the rupture site. The newborn survived but has residual musculoskeletal morbidity and developmental delay at 1 year of age.
CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing conservative treatment of placenta accreta in the setting of a fundal hysterotomy should be cautioned about recurrent accreta and uterine rupture.