In a tubal or ectopic pregnancy the fertilized ovum is implanted in any tissue other than the uterine wall. Fallopian tube is the place where most ectopic pregnancies occur (so-called tubal pregnancies). Nevertheless, abdomen, cervix, and ovaries are the areas where implantation can also happen.

Tubal Pregnancy Symptoms:

Early ones are:

• Normally mild vaginal bleeding

• Normally mild discomfort and pain (a corupus luteum on the ovary in a normal pregnancy may give quite similar symptoms).

Later ones are:

Pain and bleeding both are the symptoms also associated with later period of tubal pregnancy. Bleeding at this stage will be both internal and vaginal and has 2 separate pathophysioloigic mechanisms. Falling progesterone levels cause external bleeding at this stage and, on the other hand, internal bleeding is the result of hemorrhage from the affected tube.

As it is very rare to find pregnancy with an active Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), the most common misdiagnosis assigned to early tubal pregnancy is PID.

Tubal Pregnancy Treatment:

The treatment options include:

Surgical Treatment:

To gain access to the pelvis, surgeons use laparotomy or laparoscopy and then they can either remove the affected tube with the pregnancy (the process known as salpingectomy) or incise the affected Fallopian and remove only the pregnancy (the process known as salpingostomy).

Non-Surgical Treatment:

Since 1993, treatment of tubal pregnancy with the drug methotrexate has proven out to be a practicable substitute to surgical treatment. Methotrexate has the capability to disrupt the growth of the growing embryo causing the cessation of pregnancy if this drug is administered early in the pregnancy.