Rudimentary uterine horn pregnancy in 15 cases: case series with a two-year follow-up

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to understand and investigate the reproductive outcomes of patients with rudimentary horn pregnancies after surgical removal of the rudimentary horn. Materials and Methods: The clinical records, including age, obstetric history, gestational age (weeks), presenting feature, preoperative diagnosis, intraoperative diagnosis, blood loss, and surgical management of women who were diagnosed with pregnancy in the rudimentary horn from 2006 to 2010 were reviewed in this retrospective study. The reproductive outcomes of these women that underwent surgical removal of the rudimentary horn were also recorded during the two-year follow-up period. Results: Fifteen women diagnosed with rudimentary horn pregnancies were included in this study and non-communicating horn was accounted for 87.3% of these cases. The gestation periods of them varied from six to 26 weeks. Rupture of the uterine wall occurred in three cases (20%) and no maternal deaths were observed. Eleven patients underwent laparotomy for rudimentary horn removal and four underwent laparoscopic removal. During the two-year follow-up period, ten out of 15 patients (66.7%) became pregnant and seven of them delivered babies, whereas two asked for medical abortion, and only one had spontaneous abortion during the first trimester. Among the seven women giving live births, three of them were vaginally delivered and four were by cesarean section, five women were term pregnancy, and the other two women gave birth prematurely. Conclusion: This study indicates that the early diagnosis, proper consultation, and quick surgical treatment in patients with rudimentary horn pregnancies are necessary.