The role of shear wave elastography in the assessment of placenta previa–accreta

Abstract

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Objective: To evaluate the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the prediction of morbidly adherent placenta. Methods: Forty-three women with normal placental location and 26 women with anteriorly localized placenta previa were recruited for this case-control study. Placental elasticity values in both the groups were determined by SWE imaging. Results: SWE values were higher in the placenta previa group in all regions than in normal localized placentas (p .05). Conclusions: Placental stiffness is significantly higher in placenta previa than normal localized placentas. However, we could not demonstrate any statistically significant difference in the elasticity values between the placenta previa with and without accreta.