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Three Recurrent Ectopic Pregnancies Case Report and Review of the Literature
Author(s) -
Mustafa Mohamed Siddoq,
Adelusi Babatunde,
Sporrong Bengt
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1998.tb02974.x
Subject(s) - salpingostomy , ectopic pregnancy , salpingectomy , medicine , gynecology , obstetrics , fallopian tube , pregnancy , fertility , retrospective cohort study , infertility , surgery , population , genetics , environmental health , biology
EDITORIAL COMMENT: We accepted this case report for publication not solely because of its unusual anecdotal interest, or for its glimpse into reproductive requirements and wishes of women in Saudi Arabia, but for its summary of the literature on repeat ectopic pregnancy which should interest readers. Although preservation of the Fallopian tube by laparascopic salpingostomy is becoming the established treatment of unruptured ectopic pregnancy, we are unaware of a prospective trial comparing subsequent fertility in women with salpingostomy versus partial salpingectomy for unruptured ectopic pregnancy when the opposite Fallopian tube appears normal. In the present case there is no evidence that the preserved tube was useful from the reproductive point of view, although it remained patent. One reviewer of this paper performed a medline search and found that ‘there are no prospective studies and only a few retrospective reports comparing fertility rates after salpingostomy and salpingectomy. Three major retrospective studies found no significant difference infertility or incidence of repeat ectopic pregnancy between the 2 procedures, but salpingostomy carries a 5–8% risk of persistent ectopic pregnancy, contributing to increased morbidity and cost. Fertility after ectopic pregnancy is affected much more by the status of the contralateral tube than by the procedure performed, with fertility rates exceeding 80% after salpingectomy when the opposite tube is normal’(A). A. Rulin MC. Is salpingostomy the surgical treatment of choice for unruptured tubal pregnancy? Obstet Gynecoi 1995; 86: 1010–1013. Summary: Further studies on the obstetric performance of women after recurrent ectopic pregnancies are needed to adequately counsel women who are still interested in future fertility, even after their third ectopic pregnancy.