When can a hydatidiform mole be detected?

Sometimes when a woman becomes pregnant, the fertilized egg will have an abnormal reaction, which will eventually cause the fetus to not develop normally and form a blister that is somewhat similar to a grape. This is called hydatidiform mole. Among patients with hydatidiform mole, about 10% to 20% will develop malignant transformation, so patients with this disease should be followed up, and early detection and early treatment will be beneficial in preventing the disease from becoming malignant. The following is an introduction on when hydatidiform mole can be detected.

Generally speaking, hydatidiform mole can be detected within 6 to 8 weeks. In a small number of women, after becoming pregnant, there is no fetus in the uterine cavity, but only a bunch of blisters of varying sizes, which resemble grapes, hence the name hydatidiform mole. Hydatidiform mole is caused by excessive proliferation of chorionic trophoblastic cells of the placenta and is a benign tumor. Generally, hydatidiform mole can be found by B-ultrasound examination at 6-7 weeks of pregnancy. If the amount of HCG in the blood is tested, it can be found earlier, because HCG can be detected in the blood 7 days after fertilization, that is, about 21 days after the menstruation is over. When suffering from hydatidiform mole, a large amount of HCG is produced in the body, and the amount of HCG in the blood is higher than that of normal pregnancy. And as the gestational age increases, the speed of HCG increase is faster than that of normal pregnancy. However, this method cannot completely confirm that it is hydatidiform mole, because twins also have similar symptoms, so B-ultrasound is the earliest way to detect hydatidiform mole.

If it is a hydatidiform mole, the expectant mother will vomit earlier during pregnancy than in a normal pregnancy, and the duration will be longer, and the symptoms of morning sickness will be more severe. Secondly, if you are pregnant with a hydatidiform mole, the expectant mother's belly will grow faster, and you may be able to see the belly grow obviously during pregnancy. At this time, it is best to go to the hospital for an ultrasound examination. However, if the pregnancy is less than 50 days, it is difficult to detect it by ultrasound, so it is recommended to have a B-ultrasound around 50 days.

It should be noted that even if patients with hydatidiform mole are treated and recovered through uterine curettage, they should still be examined at least once every six months after treatment. Generally, an examination should be done in the first month after the operation, then every three months, and every six months starting from the second year. Only in this way can we timely discover whether the hydatidiform mole has recurred and whether the hydatidiform mole has become malignant.