Doctor, how is an ectopic pregnancy treated?

Hello, thanks for posting your query.The first thing to be done is to diagnose the ectopic pregnancy. A urine pregnancy test is weakly positive compared to a normal pregnancy.

An ultra sound abdomen should be done to find out the location and size of the ectopic pregnancy. The findings are: empty uterus on ultrasound and there is a mass in any one of the following organs: tube- most commonly, ovaries, abdomen etc.

The ectopic pregnancy is managed in different ways based on the following:

• Whether the ectopic pregnancy is ruptured or not
• And based on the size of the fertilized product.

The ectopic pregnancy cannot be nourished well and when the structure to which it is held cannot sustain it any more- it gives way. Then there is rupture and this is always an emergency condition. It needs a major emergency surgery, in which that particular organ is removed; it can also be done conservatively by removing as less amount of the organ as possible. For example if it is ruptured tubal pregnancy, usually that particular tube is removed.  Similarly, with the ovaries.

If it is an unruptured ectopic pregnancy, the treatment depends on size of the embryo.

• If the size is less than 3 cm, medical management would suffice to terminate it
• If the size of the conceptis is between 3-5 cm or more than 5 cm laparoscopy assisted surgical removal of the tube is done, and if possible the tube is retained and the pregnancy is just milked out of it.

Hope you will find this informative.