"I Think I Was Pregnant Three Years Ago"... What a Woman Who Went to the Hospital After Enduring Abdominal Pain Found

Pregnancy test negative... uterus empty
Calcified "fetus" found after dying outside the uterus

A woman who had suffered lower abdominal pain for three years went to the hospital for an examination, where doctors found a fetus that had hardened like stone.

CT image of a lithopedion, a fetus from an abdominal pregnancy three years earlier that was not delivered and calcified after becoming lodged against the posterior pelvic peritoneum. Screenshot from a paper in the International Journal of Medical Case Reports.

The International Medical Case Reports Journal recently reported an extraordinary surgical case involving a 42-year-old woman living in Somaliland. Three years ago, she experienced pregnancy symptoms and distinct fetal movements, but at some point the baby stopped moving. Her belly, which had been growing, suddenly deflated.

However, she suffered chronic lower abdominal pain for three years. The dull pain gradually worsened, and it was only after she felt a heavy mass that she went to the hospital.

Tests showed that her human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) level was negative and that her uterus was empty on ultrasound. But the abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed something different. There was a massive 18-centimeter mass in her abdominal cavity, containing a human skull, spine, and ribs intact.

The diagnosis was lithopedion, also known as a stone baby. This rare condition occurs when a fetus dies during an abdominal pregnancy and, because it is too large to be absorbed by the mother, remains in the body. The mother's immune system recognizes the deceased fetus as foreign material and coats it with calcium to prevent infection, causing it to harden like stone. Only about 300 cases have been reported in medical literature over the past 400 years, making it extremely rare.

The report noted that lithopedion is generally discovered in women decades later, often after menopause. This patient's case was unusual because symptoms appeared when she was young, just three years later. The medical team added that the condition could have been detected earlier if she had received prenatal care during her pregnancy three years ago, and that this unusual case arose because of poor access to medical care.

Under general anesthesia, the medical team performed open surgery to remove the 18-centimeter lithopedion, which was attached to the peritoneum at the back of the pelvis. Fortunately, there was no damage to the surrounding organs. She was discharged without any particular postoperative complications, and follow-up examinations over the next six months confirmed that her abdominal pain had disappeared.

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