What does ectopic pregnancy mean?

Some friends actually don’t understand ectopic pregnancy, but ectopic pregnancy is very common, so friends still need to learn more about it. Ectopic pregnancy is also called ectopic pregnancy in medicine. Generally speaking, the pregnancy needs to be terminated, otherwise the fetus cannot develop. Because the location of conception itself is wrong or incorrect, it needs early treatment.

An abnormal pregnancy process in which the fertilized egg implants and develops outside the uterine cavity. Also called "ectopic pregnancy". The most common type of pregnancy is tubal pregnancy. The cause of the disease is often due to inflammation in the fallopian tube lumen or its surroundings, which causes poor patency of the lumen, hindering the normal operation of the fertilized egg, causing it to stay, implant, and develop in the fallopian tube, leading to miscarriage or rupture of the fallopian tube pregnancy. There are often no obvious symptoms before miscarriage or rupture, but there may also be amenorrhea, abdominal pain, and a small amount of vaginal bleeding. After rupture, symptoms include acute and severe abdominal pain, repeated attacks, vaginal bleeding, and even shock. Examination often shows signs of intra-abdominal bleeding and a mass next to the uterus. Ultrasound examination can assist in diagnosis. Treatment is mainly surgical. While correcting shock, laparotomy and removal of the diseased fallopian tube are performed. If you want to preserve your fertility, you can also cut the fallopian tube and remove the fertilized egg.

Causes

1. Fallopian tube inflammation

Ectopic pregnancy can be divided into tubal mucositis and perisalpingitis, both of which are common causes of tubal pregnancy. In severe cases, fallopian tube mucositis can cause complete obstruction of the tube lumen and lead to infertility. In mild cases, the fallopian tube mucosa will be adhered and the cilia will be damaged, which will affect the movement of the fertilized egg and cause it to implant there. Salpingitis caused by gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis often involves the mucosa, while infection after abortion or delivery often causes perisalpingitis.

2. Fallopian tube surgery

If tubal recanalization or fistula occurs after tubal sterilization, it may lead to tubal pregnancy, especially laparoscopic electrocoagulation tubal sterilization and silicone ring surgery. For women who have undergone tubal adhesion separation surgery and tuboplasty due to infertility, such as tubal anastomosis and tubal opening, the incidence of tubal pregnancy again is 10% to 20%.

3. Fallopian tube dysplasia or dysfunction

Tubal dysplasia is often manifested as an overly long fallopian tube, poorly developed muscularis, and a lack of mucociliary tissue. Other causes include double fallopian tubes, diverticula or accessory fimbria, which can all be causes of fallopian tube pregnancy. If the secretion of estrogen and progesterone is abnormal, it may affect the normal operation of the fertilized egg. In addition, mental factors can also cause spasms and abnormal peristalsis of the fallopian tubes, interfering with the transportation of the fertilized egg;

4. The fertilized egg wanders

The egg is fertilized in one fallopian tube, and the fertilized egg enters the opposite fallopian tube through the uterine cavity or abdominal cavity, which is called fertilized egg migration. If the migration time is too long, the fertilized egg will grow larger and can implant in the opposite fallopian tube and form a tubal pregnancy.

5. Assisted Reproductive Technology

From the earliest artificial insemination to the current use of ovulation-inducing drugs, as well as in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or gamete intrafallopian tube transfer (GIFT), ectopic pregnancies can occur, and the incidence rate is about 5%, which is higher than the incidence rate of ectopic pregnancies caused by general reasons. The related risk factors include preoperative fallopian tube lesions, history of pelvic surgery, technical factors of embryo transplantation, the number and quality of implanted embryos, hormonal environment, and excessive transplant fluid during embryo transplantation.