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  • Title: Tubal conservation with ectopic gestations. A reappraisal.
    Author: Starks G.
    Journal: Am Surg; 1984 Apr; 50(4):222-4. PubMed ID: 6231872.
    Abstract:
    Ectopic pregnancies have shown an increasing trend during the past decade. Factors that appear to be responsible are the intrauterine device (IUD), fallopian tube surgery (ligation reversals, reconstructive tuboplasty), and more effective antibiotics against pelvic inflammatory disease (precluding radical pelvic surgery). Our ability to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy at an earlier gestation (prior to rupture) through the use of highly sensitive pregnancy tests (Beta-HCG), ultrasonography, and diagnostic laparoscopy, has significantly altered our approach in treatment. Because these ectopic gestations are seen in a younger population, older nulliparous patients, and patients who desire future fertility, earlier diagnosis precludes an emergency approach to a now-elective procedure. In this paper, we will explore the pros and cons of conservative management for ectopic pregnancies, emphasizing present day evaluation and microsurgical approaches for repair. This article examines causal factors of ectopic pregnancy, discusses management with emphasis on tubal conservation, and updates information on diagnosis, fertility maximization, and minimization of risks of recurrent ectopic gestations. The common factor in ectopic gestations appears to be a delay in the transport of the fertilized ovum to the uterus, allowing the embryo to develop invasive trophoblast. Factors that appear to have increased the incidence of ectopic pregnancy over the past include increased sexual exposure, more effective theraphy for pelvic inflammatory disease, IUDs, tubal surgery, and surgical sterilization reversals. 77% of extrauterine gestations occur in the middle and distal thirds of the fallopian tube, with clinical manifestations largely determined by the site of implantation. Abdominal pain, amenorrhea/vaginal bleeding, and a pelvic mass are the classic signs of an ectopic pregnancy. Newer diagnostic procedures including serum human chorionic gonadotropin-beta subunit assay pregnancy testing supported by ultrasonography and laparoscopy have allowed the vast majority of tubal pregnancies to be diagnoses before rupture, permitting surgery to be undertaken more for the purpose of preserving fertility than for saving the mother's life. Factors in selecting candidates for conservative surgery include medical stability of the patient, parity, desire for future pregnancy, age under 35, mid or distal tubal gestation, prior ectopic gestation or tubal surgery. Considerations influencing the surgical approach for appropriate candidates include location of the pregnancy, condition of the involved and contralateral tube and ovary, pelvic anomalies, previous surgery, and need for ancillary procedures. If the ectopic gestation is located in the mid to distal segment of the fallopian tube, a segmental resection or salpingostomy using microsurgery should give a good anatomic and functional result. A review of the literature indicates that, contrary to prevailing opinion, recurrent etopic gestations are not more common in patients undergoing tubal conservation than in those undergoing more radical procedures. Recent data have shown term pregnancy rates of 40-55% and recurrent ectopic pregnancy rates of 5% in patients with conservative procedures, the improved rate being attributed to availability of microsurgical techniques, finer suture and minimal surgical trauma, which lead to less adhesions and scarring. tudies have indicated that use of Dextran minimizes pelvic adhesion formation, decreasing anatomic distortion leading to subsquent infertility or ectopic pregnancy.
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