81-Year-Old Woman Visits Hospital for Abdominal Pain
Last Pregnancy 50 Years Ago
Underwent Surgery but Woman Eventually Dies
An elderly woman in Brazil visited a hospital due to severe abdominal pain and was found to have a lithopedion in her abdomen. She underwent emergency surgery but passed away.
Photo of a 73-year-old Algerian woman who has lived with Sektaea for 35 years. The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=The Sun capture]
On the 19th (local time), Brazilian media outlet G1 reported that an 81-year-old grandmother living in Mato Grosso do Sul visited a local hospital on the 14th with symptoms of a urinary tract infection and abdominal pain. Medical staff discovered a calcified fetus (lithopedion) inside her abdomen through a computed tomography (CT) scan. Based on the patient's statement that her "last pregnancy was 56 years ago" and the condition of the lithopedion, the medical team concluded that the fetus had died over 50 years ago. The grandmother underwent removal surgery performed by obstetrics specialists but ultimately died on the following day, the 15th.
Local health authorities reported that the deceased patient had been receiving treatment for urinary tract infections regularly. However, no one was aware that the grandmother was carrying a lithopedion. Brazilian health officials explained, "It is a rare case that occurs in a very small number of pregnant women," adding, "(A lithopedion) can remain undetected for decades and may cause complications unexpectedly."
A lithopedion occurs when the immune system recognizes a deceased fetus inside the body as a foreign substance and forms a calcium-rich wall around it. This prevents the dead fetus from being expelled or decomposed outside the uterus, causing it to harden and mummify inside the body. When this mummified fetus becomes further calcified, it is called a 'lithopedion.' According to the British Royal Medical Society journal, documented cases of lithopedion date back to the 10th century, and it is an extremely rare phenomenon with only about 290 cases reported worldwide.
Previously, in Mexico last August, a case was reported where an 84-year-old grandmother was found to have a lithopedion from a miscarriage that occurred 40 years earlier. This grandmother also had no significant illnesses until she visited the hospital for mild abdominal pain and the lithopedion was discovered. The medical team decided not to perform surgery, judging that the advanced age of the Mexican grandmother and the fetus in her abdomen were unrelated to the abdominal pain. In March of last year, a 50-year-old woman in the United States who had carried a lithopedion for nine years died from malnutrition. It was reported that although the woman knew the fetus inside her had died, she endured criticism for causing the fetus's death and chose not to deliver, living with the fetus inside her body until her death.
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