Ab. Copperman et al., PERSISTENCE OF A PERSISTENT ECTOPIC PREGNANCY - LAPAROSCOPIC RECOGNITION AND TREATMENT, Journal of gynecologic surgery, 11(3), 1995, pp. 181-184
We present a case of a 32-year-old woman who underwent treatment with
both linear salpingostomy and methotrexate for an ectopic pregnancy, f
inally resulting in undetectable beta-hCG titers, Despite her clinical
response to these combined interventions, she continued to harbor per
sistent trophoblastic tissue 9 months later, The histologic verificati
on of chronic trophoblastic tissue persisting with negative beta-hCG t
iters has not been reported, We suspect that retained trophoblastic ti
ssue may explain some reports of persistent masses noted by ultrasound
and may also explain some cases of tubal occlusion following conserva
tive treatment of ectopic pregnancies, Given the increasing prevalence
of conservatively managed tubal pregnancies, the gynecologic surgeon
should be aware of this clinical entity, enabling the surgeon to look
for, recognize, and treat the persistent tissue appropriately.