23rd March, 2024
An 81-year-old woman in Brazil died after undergoing surgery to remove a 56-year-old foetus from her abdomen, Metro reported.
The woman, identified as Daniela Vera, unknowingly had an ectopic pregnancy when she was younger and complained to doctors numerous times about pain and a bulge in her belly. She had been feeling unwell with stomach discomforts for several weeks before her doctor’s appointment.
Sadly, the doctors didn’t spot the calcified baby inside her during the first appointment. Instead, they treated her for a water infection, before sending her to another hospital to get 3D scans.
Despite having seven children, Ms Vera’s condition went unnoticed until she received the 3D scans. This revealed lithopedion, a rare condition that happens when a baby dies during pregnancy and isn’t absorbed by the body, Metro reported.
The 81-year-old then went into surgery, following which she was moved into the intensive care unit (ICU). Sadly, she died the next day, on March 15 after suffering an infection.
Dr Patrick Dezir, the head of the Ponta Pora Hospital health department, explained, “When pregnancy occurs, it must be inside the uterus, but in some situations, pregnancy can occur outside”.
“That baby was not clinical, the patient did not have acute pain and did not have major bleeding and this diagnosis goes unnoticed and time will take care of that foreign body that was left inside the woman’s abdomen,” Dr Dezir added.
Ms Vera’s daughter, Rosely Almedia, said, “She was old and we are indigenous, she didn’t like going to the doctor, she was afraid of the equipment to take exams. She said that it looked like a baby was moving inside her belly and sometimes she felt sick, but we never suspected that it was that”.
Notably, Ms Vera had complained of abdominal pain since her first pregnancy when she was a teenager, her daughter said, as per the outlet.
Ectopic pregnancy is a type of pregnancy where the fertilised egg is conceived outside the womb, where it is not able to survive. Due to the lack of development, the foetus becomes calcified and in such a situation, there is neither severe pain nor bleeding in the body. There are also no visible symptoms until an X-ray is done.
(NDTV)