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Ectopic Pregnancy

Ectopic Pregnancy Overview

An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that develops outside a woman's uterus (womb). This happens when the fertilized egg from the ovary does not implant itself normally in the uterus. Instead, the egg develops somewhere else in the abdomen. The products of this conception are abnormal and cannot develop into fetuses.

  • The most common place that ectopic pregnancy occurs is in one of the fallopian tubes (a so-called tubal pregnancy). These are the tubes that transport the egg from the ovary to the uterus. Ectopic pregnancies also can be found on the outside of the uterus, on the ovaries, or attached to the bowel.

  • The most serious complication of an ectopic pregnancy is intra-abdominal hemorrhage (severe bleeding). In the case of a tubal pregnancy, for example, as the products of conception continue to grow in the fallopian tube, the tube expands and eventually ruptures. This can be very dangerous because a large artery runs on the outside of each fallopian tube. If the artery ruptures, you can bleed severely.

  • Ectopic pregnancy is usually found in the first 5-10 weeks of pregnancy.



Next: Ectopic Pregnancy Causes »

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Ectopic Pregnancy

Laparoscopy »

Laparoscopy Overview

Laparoscopy is a way of performing a surgery. Instead of making a large incision (or cut) for certain operations, surgeons make tiny incisions and insert tiny instruments and a camera into a site, such as into the abdomen, to view the internal organs and repair or remove tissue.

Laparoscopy was first performed in animals in the early 1900s, and the Swedish surgeon Jacobaeus coined the term laparoscopy (laparothorakoskopie) in 1901. However, better techniques were not developed until the 1960s, when laparoscopy was accepted as a safe and valuable procedure.

Early on, the technique of laparoscopy, sometimes referred to as keyhole surgery, was used only to diagnose conditions. Then doctors began to perform surgeries such as tubal sterilization in women using laparoscopy. The technique has evolved so much that operations that once required doctors to make a very large incision, such as to remove the gallbladder, can now all be ...

Read the Laparoscopy article »



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Ectopic Pregnancy »

Ectopic pregnancy presents a major health problem for women of childbearing age.

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