Undiagnosed Mullerian anomalies may impact standard intra and postoperative management of ectopic pregnancies: Study

A 39-year-old nulligravid woman with anovulation and irregular menstrual cycles presented to the office. Her urine pregnancy test result was incidentally positive; the serum b-human chorionic gonadotropin level was 5,644 mIU/mL. Outpatient transvaginal ultrasonography demonstrated a 2.1 x 1.7 x 2.2–cm thick-walled structure in the left adnexa without an intrauterine pregnancy. These findings were highly suspicious for a left tubal ectopic pregnancy. The patient was consented for laparoscopy with planned left salpingectomy. The patient included in this video gave consent for publication of the video and posting of the video online including social media, the journal website, scientific literature websites (e.g., PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus), and other applicable sites.

Diagnostic laparoscopy did not show an obvious left tubal ectopic pregnancy. Instead, a right unicornuate uterus with a dilated rudimentary left uterine horn was seen. Both fallopian tubes and ovaries appeared normal. These laparoscopic findings were consistent with an ectopic pregnancy in the rudimentary horn. However, in the absence of informed consent for a hemihysterectomy and no evidence of ectopic rupture or bleeding within the pelvis, we decided to proceed with excision of the ectopic pregnancy from the uterine horn. An incision was made over the anterior surface of the uterine horn, and the pregnancy sac was dissected from the underlying myometrium and excised in its entirety. Left salpingectomy was also performed. The patient was discharged home the same day, and her b-human chorionic gonadotropin levels decreased to <5 mIU/mL within 28 days of surgery.

Postoperative hysterosalpingography demonstrated a right unicornuate uterus with normal fill and spill of the right fallopian tube. Magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis confirmed the findings of a right unicornuate uterus with a noncommunicating left rudimentary uterine horn that did not contain any endometrial tissue. Thus, the patient did not require an interval hemihysterectomy. She underwent letrozole and intrauterine insemination treatment 5 months after the initial surgery, which resulted in a clinical intrauterine pregnancy. However, this pregnancy was terminated in the early second trimester because of findings of trisomy 18. She conceived naturally 1 year later, and this pregnancy resulted in a full-term vaginal birth at 39 weeks of gestation.

It can be concluded that undiagnosed or unexpected Mullerian anomalies can impact the standard intraoperative and postoperative management of ectopic pregnancies.

Source: Shelun Tsai, M.D.,a Aleksandra Uzelac, B.Sc., M.Sc., M.D.,b Steven R. Lindheim; Fertil Steril® Vol. 122, No. 5, November 2024

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2024.07.036