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Images in abnormal placenta: a rare case of “blood bag” formation in placenta membranacea

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Abstract

Placenta membranacea is an uncommon placental anomaly. Here, we present the case of a 30-year-old primiparous woman admitted for thickened placenta and reduced amniotic fluid. A follow-up ultrasound, performed after 48 h, revealed that the placental parenchyma was thin and not adequately visualized, enclosing a substantial volume of flowing blood (150 mm), with an amniotic fluid index of 18 mm. An emergency cesarean section was promptly performed. Following fetal delivery, a substantial accumulation of dark red blood within the fetal membranes created a "blood bag", estimated at approximately 3000 ml. This observation aligned with the ultrasound findings, and both placental morphology and pathological results substantiated the diagnosis of placenta membranacea.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article. Further enquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Obstetrics Department at Anhui Province Maternal and Child Health Hospital.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obstetrics Department, Anhui Province Maternity and Child Health Hospital, Hefei, Anhui, China

    Song Li, Xianglian Meng & Jun Wang

Authors
  1. Song Li
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  2. Xianglian Meng
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  3. Jun Wang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Song Li, Xianglian Meng and Jun Wang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Song Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Song Li.

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The authors do not have any possible conflicts of interest.

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The study did not require ethics approval.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the patient.

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The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure(s) 1, 2, 3 and 4.

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Li, S., Meng, X. & Wang, J. Images in abnormal placenta: a rare case of “blood bag” formation in placenta membranacea. Arch Gynecol Obstet 309, 2175–2176 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-07365-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-07365-2

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