Benign hydatidiform mole in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

A study was conducted to analyze 61 patients with benign hydatidiform mole (HM) who were admitted to the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria, during a 5-year period. The hospital incidence of HM was 1:205 pregnancies, and the condition was seen most commonly in young women, probably because early marriage is customary in our culture. Management of the condition generally was conservative because of the patients' youth. There was no correlation between HM and parity. Vaginal secondaries due to an embolic phenomenon were detected in 5% of the patients. Subsequent pregnancies followed within 6 months of treatment because the majority of the patients failed to heed medical advice to delay pregnancy for 2 years. No diagnostic problems were encountered in the patients who became pregnant during the follow-up period.