In Peru, a team of doctors was able to successfully treat an extremely rare ectopic pregnancy in which the placenta became attached to the mother’s liver, reports RPP Noticias. Despite the dangerous location, the pregnancy progressed to 40 weeks, and the baby was born full-term.
According to the Ministry of Health, this is the first such case in Peru and only the fourth in world practice when both mother and child were saved. Minister Luis Quiros Aviles noted that 19-year-old Valeria Vele underwent a complex, high-risk operation: an attempt to separate the placenta, which had adhered to the liver, could lead to massive and fatal bleeding. The young woman’s condition is now stable. Doctors reported this a few days after her discharge. The girl, named Eileen, was born on November 30 weighing 3.7 kg and, according to doctors, feels well.
Typically, an ectopic pregnancy develops outside the uterus – in 96% of cases in the fallopian tubes and in about 4% in the abdominal cavity. In the same case, the embryo was fixed directly in the liver, receiving nutrition through its vessels. The rarity of the situation is emphasized by the fact that the pregnancy continued to full term. In three other known cases from the 2000s, abdominal ectopic pregnancies resulted in a live birth at a maximum of 36 weeks.
Another feature of this case was that the pregnancy did not have to be terminated either at the early or middle stages. On the contrary, doctors monitored her closely throughout the months, which required an extremely complex medical approach. According to experts, the use of modern technologies, including embolization of the vessels that supplied the placenta with blood, made it possible to safely carry out childbirth and avoid life-threatening bleeding. The Peruvian Ministry of Health described the incident as a “real medical achievement” and an important step forward for obstetric practice.