A 34-year-old mother successfully delivered a healthy baby at Medcare Hospital Sharjah following a rare pregnancy complication that resulted in a foetus developing outside the uterus. Heterotopic pregnancy, a rare occurrence involving both a normal intrauterine pregnancy and an ectopic pregnancy, affected Dalel Khalfaoui, a Tunisian woman whose fallopian tube had twisted, a condition discovered late in her pregnancy. She chose to undergo diagnostic laparoscopic surgery at seven months to safeguard her baby. Dr. Hala Al Khalidy, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist who directed the procedure at Medcare Hospital Sharjah, highlighted the rarity of acute torsion of the fallopian tube and Khalfaoui's undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, which is among the rarest globally, accounting for only one to two percent of all ectopic pregnancies, which themselves are only one percent of normal pregnancies. Chronic ectopic pregnancies are typically diagnosed by the 24th week, with very few cases reaching 31 weeks, and none involving laparoscopic surgery until now. Khalfaoui and her husband, Achraf Amdouni, had struggled to conceive for five years before discovering her pregnancy, though she experienced increasing pain throughout. By the 31st week, the pain became unbearable, leading to emergency care. Despite initial inconclusive MRI scans, diagnostic laparoscopy revealed a severely twisted and gangrenous fallopian tube, which was removed laparoscopically. The pathology report confirmed an ectopic pregnancy that had ceased growth two months post-conception. Khalfaoui expressed her relief and gratitude after the successful surgery, which allowed her to give birth to a healthy baby girl weighing three kilograms.
Text: Lara Palmer
14.06.2024
Mother Overcomes Twisted Fallopian Tube and Ectopic Pregnancy to Safely Deliver Healthy Baby