European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

LITHOPEDION AS A RESULT OF FAILURE OF TUBECTOMY: REPORT OF A RARE CASE

*Dr. Dhanwantari Shukla, Dr. Mayank Jain and Dr. Lal Mani Singh

ABSTRACT

The word lithopedion (stone child) is a descriptive term derived from the Greek words litho (meaning stone), and pedion (meaning child). It usually results from a primary or secondary abdominal pregnancy that evolves to fetal death and calcification. The incidence of abdominal pregnancy is 1:11,000 pregnancies and lithopedion occurs in 1.5 to 1.8% of these cases. This is a rare condition with about 300 cases reported in 400 years of medical literature.[1,2,3] Most cases of lithopedion are asymptomatic and discovered incidentally on abdominal x-ray, at surgery, or autopsy. Because of increase in inflammatory pelvic disease and surgery of uterine tubes, there has been an increase in ectopic pregnancy. On the other hand, occurrence of abdominal pregnancy and lithopaedion has tended to become even rarer due to medical and pre-natal care becoming more accessible to the population, with the possibility of early diagnosis and treatment of the pathology. [3,4] We report a case of a 40 year old lady who underwent tubectomy 10 years back and presented with pain in right lower abdomen for 3 years. Plain X-ray suggested a heterogenous irregular mass in Right iliac fossa which on laparotomy turned out to be a lithopedion. The Right fallopian tube of the patient laid transected and with patent lumen suggesting a failed tubectomy.

Keywords: Lithopedion, ectopic pregnancy, abdominal pregnancy, tubectomy.