Advanced abdominal pregnancy: still an occurrence in modern medicine

Abstract

In a world bewildered by spectacular advances in imaging technology, the early detection of an abdominal pregnancy should be a feasible objective. A case of an advanced abdominal pregnancy is presented. Although the pregnancy was the result of in vitro fertilisation technology, the diagnosis was not suspected until 35 weeks gestation. Both ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to achieve a diagnosis prior to delivery. The placenta was left within the peritoneal cavity but removal was necessitated for maternal symptomatology 4 months postdelivery. This case illustrates that despite the almost ubiquitous usage of prenatal ultrasound, extrauterine pregnancies may not be detected in a timely manner unless attention to basic ultrasound techniques is followed.