Mode of birth in women with low-lying placenta: protocol for a prospective multicentre 1:3 matched case-control study in Italy (the MODEL-PLACENTA study).

Introduction: The term placenta praevia defines a placenta that lies over the internal os, whereas the term low-lying placenta identifies a placenta that is partially implanted in the lower uterine segment with the inferior placental edge located at 1-20 mm from the internal cervical os (internal-os-distance). The most appropriate mode of birth in women with low-lying placenta is still controversial, with the majority of them undergoing caesarean section. The current project aims to evaluate the rate of vaginal birth and caesarean section in labour due to bleeding by offering a trial of labour to all women with an internal-os-distance >5 mm as assessed by transvaginal sonography in the late third trimester.

The morbidly adherent placenta: when and what association of signs can improve MRI diagnosis? Our experience.

Purpose: We aimed to verify whether combination of specific signs improves magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) accuracy in morbidly adherent placenta (MAP).

Methods: MRI findings for MAP were retrospectively evaluated in 27 women. Histopathology was the reference standard, showing MAP in eight of 27 cases.

Succenturiate lobe of placenta with vessel anomaly: a case report of prenatal diagnosis and literature review.

We report the case of a 33-year-old woman with antenatal ultrasound diagnosis of succenturiate placental lobe at 33 weeks confirmed by B-flow rendering, describing the advantages of the application of color Doppler to diagnosis and management of placental anomalies. We searched studies about antenatal diagnosis of succenturiate placental lobe, including only cases in which color Doppler was used. This case underlines the importance of color Doppler in increasing the accuracy of diagnosis and achieving an improved differential diagnosis.

Invasive fetal therapies: approach and results in treating fetal ovarian cysts.

Objective: To show the validity of prenatal invasive surgical intervention when a fetal ovarian cyst is diagnosed, compared to a wait and see attitude, in order to avoid possible prenatal and postnatal complications.

Patients: Fourteen cases of intra-abdominal cysts monitored in our center between April 2005 and November 2010. All cases were first diagnosed in the third trimester, and were monitored for the remainder of the pregnancy and after delivery (2 months-3 years postnatally).