Our Placenta Accreta team (above) has been highly commended in the HSJ Patient Safety awards after introducing an innovative way of treating women with Placenta Accreta Spectrum, a serious condition in pregnancy where the placenta becomes attached to the womb and will not separate after childbirth.

In severe cases where other areas such as the bladder or blood vessels are affected, women can have catastrophic bleeding during complex surgery to remove the womb where the placenta is attached before repairing the area. The other main treatment option is a hysterectomy, which prevents the women from having more children.

Therefore, our team introduced an ultrasound guided PABBO (Prophylactic Abdominal Aortic Balloon Occlusion). We’re the first Trust in the country to perform this procedure under ultrasound guidance, which has so far only been performed in small numbers in China.

It involves inflating and deflating a balloon to help control blood flow. The balloon is inserted into the abdomen via the groin using a metallic wire. What’s unusual about our procedure is the team uses ultrasound, something which is easily on hand in our Maternity department, to guide the balloon into the place.

This means our patients do not need to be moved between the interventional radiology suite and operating theatre, which can lead to balloon displacement, and everything is done in one place. Our procedure also avoids use of any radiation, which can be a risk to mum and baby.

Since using this technique we have seen a significant reduction in blood loss of around 50 per cent, which means fewer blood transfusions and quicker recoveries.