Season 6 - Evidence updates and controversies in Placenta Accreta Spectrum (Part 1 of 2 part episode)

In this two part podcast, Helena and Naomi are joined by three international experts in placenta accreta spectrum. - Prof Eric Jauniaux , from the EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London (UCL), who is the lead author on the most recent Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (listed below) guideline on the management of PAS. - Dr Albaro Jose Nieto-Calvache from Colombia, who works as an emergency care and obstetric doctor at the Fundación Valle del Lili, and has led multiple research studies on performing uterine conserving surgery for PAS. - Prof Yalda Afshar from the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, who leads the PAS programme at UCLA and has a special interest in the pathophysiology of PAS. These episodes focus on how our understanding of PAS has evolved over the past 6-7 years, and why this sometimes leads to confusion amongst healthcare providers and patients who are using older terminology, as to which cases meet the criteria to be diagnosed as PAS. This is an important topic as we can only continue to build knowledge, expertise and ask the right research questions if all healthcare providers are using the same terminology and criteria to diagnose PAS. These two episodes provide expert knowledge from three international PAS providers who are at the forefront of both PAS clinical care and publishing evidence based research on PAS.  Some interesting and important publications are available here for further reading: 1. Nieto-Calvache AJ, Palacios-Jaraquemada JM, Jauniaux E, Hussein AM, Afshar Y, Coutinho CM, Bartels HC, Suarez-Revelo MA, Aryananda RA, Campos C, Benavides JP. **Rethinking placenta accreta spectrum: a topography-based framework for prenatal imaging and individualized surgery.** Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2026 Jul 17:S0002-9378(26)00369-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2026.07.020. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42468864. 2. Jauniaux E, Bartels HC, Afshar Y. **Placenta accreta spectrum in the 21st century: Challenging dogma and redefining disorder**. PLoS Med. 2026 Jun 12;23(6):e1005142. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1005142. PMID: 42284360; PMCID: PMC13262927. 3. Jauniaux E, Bhide A, Hussein AM, Lees C, D'Antonio F, Robson SC, Kaelin Agten A, Jurkovic D; Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. **Placenta Praevia and Placenta Accreta Spectrum: Diagnosis and Management**: Green-Top Guideline No. 27a. BJOG. 2026 Sep;133(10):e93-e128. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.70239. Epub 2026 Jun 29. PMID: 42374711; PMCID: PMC13485456.