40-year-old fetus in the abdomen

Colombian doctors discovered 40-year-old fetus in the abdomen of a patient

13/12/2013

In Colombia, when investigating an 82-year-old female patient, a physician discovered a dead fetus that had been found undetected in the woman's abdomen for more than 40 years. The patient, also suffering from dementia, was examined in the Bogota hospital for severe headaches and severe diarrhea, according to media reports, but the physicians could not have imagined that the symptoms were caused by a calcified fetus from the 32nd week of pregnancy. The astonishment was correspondingly high when the fetus was discovered during an X-ray examination.

In the case of the 82-year-old Colombian patient is a so-called Lithopaedion (also Steinkind), which may arise, for example, in the context of ectopic pregnancy. The fetus develops in an inappropriate place and dies after a few weeks. However, this can no longer be absorbed by the body in a normal way from a certain size, so that the encapsulation takes place in a Kalkhülle, so that no bacteria can spread. The fetus petrified. So far, only a few cases of this disease have been documented. The affected patient in Colombia should now be transferred to another clinic and then undergo surgical removal of the fetus to avoid possible further complications.

Second case in Colombia
Although lithopaedione is extremely rare, a similar case has been documented for the second time in Colombia. For the first time in 2000, Colombian doctors diagnosed lithopaedione in a 72-year-old woman who complained of severe abdominal pain. Again, a surgical removal of the fetus was performed. (Fp)

Picture: The doctor