Six cases of tubal stump pregnancy: complication of assisted reproductive technology?

Objective: To present six cases of tubal stump pregnancy and discuss possible etiologies. Design: Case series. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at a tertiary referring medical center. Patient(s): Six women with tubal stump pregnancy diagnosed and treated in the department from 2004 to 2010 according to electronic files and histological reports. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Assisted reproductive technology (ART) before tubal stump pregnancies. Result(s): From 2004 to 2010, this study diagnosed six tubal stump pregnancies among 1,466 ectopic pregnancies, an incidence of 0.4%. Of the six cases, two conceived spontaneously after ovulation induction. Four of them conceived after IVF-ET programs. Conclusion(s): Tubal stump pregnancies may be one of the complications of ART. In view of the risk of early rupture in a tubal stump pregnancy, early diagnosis is warranted to avoid maternal morbidity. (Fertil Steril (R) 2011; 95: 2432. e1-e4. (C) 2011 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)