Vaginal Hysterectomy for Treatment of Cervical Ectopic Pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Cervical ectopic pregnancy can lead to catastrophic hemorrhage, and may be managed conservatively with intra-amniotic methotrexate (MTX), systemic MTX, or both; surgical evacuation with or without balloon tamponade; and uterine artery embolization. However, some patients require hysterectomy, which has traditionally been performed abdominally. CASE: A 39-year-old parous woman was diagnosed with cervical ectopic pregnancy at an estimated 7 1/7 weeks of gestation. Her b-hCG level remained at 29,433 milli-international units/mL, and the gestational sac persisted on ultrasonography after first intra-amniotic then multi-dose systemic MTX treatment. After a review of other fertility-sparing procedures, she chose definitive treatment with hysterectomy because she did not desire future childbearing. She underwent a successful vaginal hysterectomy, a novel approach for this condition. CONCLUSION: Vaginal hysterectomy can be performed successfully for treatment of cervical ectopic pregnancy in patients who have completed childbearing and for whom conservative treatment has failed.