Ectopic Pregnancy Infertility: Signs, Symptoms, Surgery, Treatment

Posted on February 15, 2010 by TDR in Infertility

Ectopic Pregnancy and Infertility

If a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, it’s called an ectopic pregnancy. There is a 2% chance of an ectopic pregnancy. This could happen if the fallopian tube is damaged or blocked. The egg may remain in the fallopian tube and develop there. Most of the ectopic pregnancies occur in the fallopian tubes. They are therefore also referred to as “tubal” pregnancies. The infertility due to ectopic pregnancy is mainly due to the eggs not being delivered to the uterus.

Very rarely, an egg implants in an ovary, in the cervix, directly in the abdomen, or even in a c-section scar.

Ectopic pregnancy is defined as pregnancy outside the uterus, normally the fertile egg from the ovary gets implanted in the uterus but in ectopic pregnancy the egg develops elsewhere in abdomen, the product of this conception is abnormal and cannot develop into a fetus.

Ectopic pregnancy is most commonly found in fallopian tubes, they act as a connecting tube between the ovaries and the uterus, their function is to transport the fertile egg from the ovaries to the uterus. Other places of ectopic pregnancies are on the outside of uterus, on the ovary and on the intestine.

Ectopic pregnancy if present can be detected between fifth to tenth weeks of pregnancy.

Signs and Symptoms of Ectopic Pregnancy

The symptoms of ectopic pregnancy are noticed when the woman is in her 4th to 6th weeks of pregnancy. The signs of ectopic pregnancy varies from woman to woman. Here are some common ectopic pregnancy symptoms and signs:

  1. Abdominal or pelvic pain or tenderness. There may also be nausea and vomiting in some cases. The abdominal pain may also be felt on just one side.
  2. Vaginal spotting or bleeding. You may see some brown discharge.
  3. You feel pain in your abdomen or bowels when you cough or do some heavy lifting.
  4. Shoulder pain when lying down, associated with cramping may mean a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. You must get medical help immediately as these are signs of internal bleeding.
  5. You may feel weak, have a racing pulse accompanied by a pale skin and dizziness. These are signs that your fallopian tube may have ruptured. This needs urgent medical attention.
  6. Fast pulse, pallor and anemia noted.
  7. Drop in blood pressure.
  8. Sweating.

Causes Of Ectopic Pregnancy

  • In tubal ectopic pregnancy the egg gets lodged in the tube itself instead of it getting lodged in the uterus, this happens when the fallopian tube is damaged, scarred, or if there is torsion of fallopian tube.
  • Damaged and scar fallopian tube is due to infection such as gonorrhea, Chlamydia infection and other pelvic inflammatory diseases.
  • Torsion of tubes can be due to operative procedures in abdomen, uterus and ovaries.
  • Use of IUD.
  • Previous history of ectopic pregnancy.
  • Use of fertility medicine during conception period.

This is an emergency situation; there are always chances of rupture of tube as the product grows in size. There is a risk of fatality in case of severe hemorrhage in ectopic pregnancy.

 

Ectopic Pregnancy Surgery

There are two types of ectopic pregnanny surgery: Laparoscopy and Laparotomy. Laparoscopic surgery is a easier and safer surgery which is non invasive. The scope with a camera is inserted to check the conditions of the fallopian tube and other organs and take remedial actions. With Laparoscopy the patient can normally be discharged the same day. Laparotomy involves an open abdominal surgery and is more complicated.

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Ectopic Pregnancy

The early the ectopic pregnancy is detected, the easier it is to treat the condition. If done within 6 weeks, medicine can be used to end the ectopic pregnancy. With the passage of time and if the there is a rupture, surgery may become necessary to end the ectopic pregnancy. If you have an ectopic pregnancy that is causing severe symptoms, bleeding, or high HCG levels, surgery like laparoscopy may be needed.

Diagnosis is based on history, clinical examination and sonography of pelvis and abdomen.

There is no home care or home remedies for ectopic pregnancy. Emergency medical treatment by a gynecologist is the hope. He may give medications if the ectopic pregnancy growth is very small to dissolve the tissue and stop its growth and finally expel it.

If the ectopic pregnancy is large and there is hemorrhage, emergency surgery is the only choice.

You can read details on ectopic pregnancy treatment here.

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