Saving an ectopic pregnancy?

[dayglow.livejournal.com]

I'm studying in Japan for a few months and one of my male friends here has a fiancee at home. They recently found out she's pregnant - the problem is, it's an ectopic pregnancy.

I thought the only solution to an ectopic pregnancy was a termination (which for this girl was supposed to happen on Friday). Apparently I was wrong, because now my friend says that she's just getting 'a little work done' and the pregnancy is going to proceed normally.

1) Is this even possible?

2) What kind of procedure would be performed to save an ectopic pregnancy?

3) Any other cool information about ectopic pregnancies that would be good to know for general info purposes?

Comments

[spoofed.livejournal.com]

An ectopic pregnancy is, I believe, any pregnancy which implants outside the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies usually occur in the fallopian tubes, and these are also known as tubal pregnancy. A tub;a pregnancy cannot be saved- there is no procedure which can make it viable. If a tubal pregnancy continue, the fallopian tube will eventually rupture, causing extreme pain and necessitating emergency surgery.
Very occasionally, non tubal ectopic pregnancies, where the foetus has implanted elsewhere in the abdomen, can continue. This is not advised, and no procedure could be carried out to make it safer. A major, major issue with a woman deciding to continue such a pregnancy to term is the trauma which would occur after the (caesarean) delivery of the baby when the placenta detatched from whatever organ it had attached to. This would be very, very likely to cause a lot of hard- to- stop bleeding.
Wikipedia has quite a good entry on ectopic pregnancies.

I think your friend is being lied to.

[spoofed.livejournal.com]

Please excuse my typoes!

[archangelbeth]

If the pregnancy is at a certain point very close to the fallopian tubes, but still in the uterus... I believe I've read that there's a fuzzy area between ectopic and normal in that case. If it's something like that, then it's possible that it might be allowed to progress -- with a lot of checking to make sure that it's not damaging her, and probably a lot of bed rest to try to minimize strain on the non-stretchy area of the fallopian tubes.

I suppose someone might try an experimental procedure to transplant the fetus, but I've not heard anything about news like that, and I do try to keep track of such things. I doubt that it would be "a little work" unless someone is drastically underplaying it.

Perhaps they've decided that the fetus has stopped growing naturally -- this apparently happens in many ectopic pregnancies -- and will miscarry on its own, so they don't have to actually perform a termination.

But yeah, it does sound like either the pregnancy wasn't truly ectopic, or someone is being told a tale. I hope that the fiancee isn't the one being spun a tale that's going to kill her. O:/

[archangelbeth]

A bit of googling... If an ectopic pregnancy is already showing signs of miscarriage and is resolving on its own, a healthcare practitioner may decide to watch and wait for spontaneous healing. This type of ectopic pregnancy is sometimes referred to as a tubal abortion, since abortion is the technical word for any miscarriage before 20 weeks.

(I googled on ectopic pregnancy transplant -- so far, no groundbreaking news about such a thing.)

[ayearalone.livejournal.com]

Sorry this is off topic but I'm in Tokyo too! Hi!

I hope that the pregnancy either works it (if possible though from reading the other comments it sounds iffy) or that she gets some accurate information.

[1337chix0r.livejournal.com]

I don't think you can "save it". Never heard of it.

She needs to have it terminated, if it bursts, shes dead.

I, myself do not support abortions, but the only exception is that.

Maintainer Note

[jocelina.livejournal.com]

Hi, 1337chix0r.

This is just a friendly request that you take a look at our comment (http://community.livejournal.com/vaginapagina/11620551.html?thread=140042951#t140042951) below, and also at VP's policy (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=VaginaPagina_FAQ#What_is_VP.27s_position_on_abortion.3F) regarding abortion debate in the community.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to get in touch with us via email (vpteam@vaginapagina.com) or over in contact_vp

Thank you!

Jocey
For the VP Team
contact_vp

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

There was a TLC special about a woman who had an ectopic pregnancy. Actually, she was having triplets, and one implanted outside of the uterus. All three babies survived. I was fasicnated, personally.

[oh-killer-tofu.livejournal.com]

yes! i loved seeing that! thats pretty much the basis behind scientists saying that there's no reason males can't carry babies to term (at least my understanding of it).

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Oh man. I would have LOVED my husband to have carried one of our kids. :D

But seriously, though, Ican't wait until males are able to have children, I think it would be an AMAZING development for gay males who want to become fathers. Can't be too much more expensive than in vitro with a surrogate, could it?

[geminigirl]

You may want to clarify whether your friend means "save the pregnancy" or "save the tube"-the latter is often accomplished using things like chemical termination like RU-486 rather than surgical removal of the tube, which is sometimes the result of a tubal pregnancy.

Maintainer Note/Reminder for Commenters :)

[jocelina.livejournal.com]

OP, thank you for trusting VP enough to share your friend's story. We hope you receive the help and information that you're seeking.

Commenters: We'd like to remind you all of VP's rules (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=VaginaPagina_FAQ), specifically with regard to abortion debate in VP on LJ:

"VaginaPagina as a body does not take a stance on abortion, or on any other controversial issues for that matter. It's not that we don't all have our own personal opinions, but political biases aren't what we're about. We're about health and access to information.

"We ask that our members refrain from arguing about abortion issues here as it's counterproductive to community cohesiveness."

Click here (http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=VaginaPagina_FAQ#What_is_VP.27s_position_on_abortion.3F) to read more.

We'd also like to remind everyone that abortion debate is fine in the "Politics" section of the VP.com Forums (http://forums.vaginapagina.com), but is unwelcome everywhere else on the site/LJ community.

VP is fabulous because of its members, so please take care to uphold the rules and your usual wonderfulness as you comment to this and every post. Thanks!

Jocey
For the VP Team (http://www.vaginapagina.com/contact.php)
contact_vp

[starzysky.livejournal.com]

Im not sure of the answer but I will say that "ectopic pregnancy" is not always the same thing as a tubal pregnancy. Ectopic just means outside the uterus.

Tubal pregnancy is life-threatening & cannot proceed. Termination is medically necessary.

Pregnancy outside the uterus is EXTREMELY dangerous but can proceed normally. Usually the pregnancy is terminated because it so rarely results in a full term live birth - but it absolutely HAS happened. The placenta can implant anywhere, you just need a C/S.

My guess is the fiance does not have an ectopic pregnancy, just a pregnancy that implanted very close to the tube. It might be that she was first told it was a tubal pregnancy then they looked again & think it's in the uterus? So maybe the "work" is just like, another U/S, lab workup, etc.

[dayglow.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking this is the most likely answer, after reading everyone's responses. In any case, they moved up the wedding because so that the girl won't be 9 months pregnant at their wedding (which was supposed to be in June).

I dunno, I think the whole situation is sketchy but it's hard to keep up on things when you're about 6,000 miles away from home. :P

[reijigin.livejournal.com]

I've always been told that the odds of saving an ectopic pregnancy were slim to none. Even if someone didn't intentionally terminate the pregnancy, the chances of a miscarriage are very high, and carrying out a pregnancy like that is a HUGE risk to the mother. If she tries to carry to term she'll be risking a lot. If it's a tubal pregnancy, she'd be risking her life.

[shyshutterbug.livejournal.com]

As stated above, ectopic pregnancies cannot be saved, as a general rule. Tubal pregnancies (the most common ectopic - over 98%), cervical, or ovarian pregnancies must be terminated. In the vast majority of cases, abdominal ectopics must be terminated as well. There have been exceptionally rare reports of women with abdominal ectopics carrying several months and delivering by C-section, but in those instances, the fetus was extremely premature (and rarely survived) and/or the mother died or suffered serious consequence as a result of internal bleeding. (Don't forget, the placenta has to come out too, and if it implants on a vital organ, that's very serious.)

If she is discussing saving the tube, in most cases, she can indeed save the tube. It depends on the length of the pregnancy (how much it has grown) and whether or not the tube and surrounding tissues are in jeopardy. If it is caught early enough, a drug called methotrexate is used to terminate the pregnancy in lieu of any surgical intervention; otherwise, surgery is necessary, usually just to remove the pregnancy (and only the tube if it has ruptured or damaged beyond repair).

It is possible!!!!

[twinkleiz2003.livejournal.com]

It is possible my grandmother had it done 61 yrs ago. They placed my Mom from the tube into the womb. I am told it was the very first procecure of this nature.
I am SHOCKED today as I look at all these sites and posting just SHOCKED. I would have thought that over all these years and technology that it would be a common thing. Glad my grandfather searched to save my mom AND HOPE THAT OTHERS WILL TOO!