First case of pregnancy in the spleen discovered in Vietnam

Doctors discovered that the fetus was not in the uterus but had 'lost' in the spleen of a 37-year-old woman in Hanoi.

On December 4, the pregnant woman went to Thanh Nhan Hospital to check her pregnancy. The ultrasound doctor did not detect a fetus in the uterus, but the blood test results showed a very high pregnancy index. Diagnosing the patient with an ectopic pregnancy, the doctors performed a general examination, ultrasound, and abdominal scan, and finally discovered the fetus nested in the spleen.

Doctor Bich examines a pregnant woman with a spleen pregnancy. Photo: LN

The patient had a history of two cesarean sections and one ectopic pregnancy. On December 6, doctors performed laparoscopic surgery to remove the spleen containing the fetus. The fetus was approximately 7 weeks old and had no heartbeat. After surgery, the patient was alert and in stable health and could be discharged in the next few days.

Doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich, Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2, Thanh Nhan Hospital said: "The patient was lucky to have the ectopic pregnancy detected early. If left for too long, the fetus would have ruptured, endangering her life."

According to Dr. Bich, ectopic pregnancy is normal, but pregnancy in the spleen is a rare phenomenon in the world and the first time it has happened in Vietnam. World medical literature has only recorded 9 similar cases.

Last year, a pregnant Chinese woman also discovered that her 3-month-old fetus was growing inside her spleen. Surprisingly, the fetus did not die but continued to grow inside her spleen. Doctors decided to perform surgery to remove part of her spleen to remove the fetus.

According to VNE