Doctors have found a calcified fetus, which was believed to have existed for between 27 and 40 years, in a woman in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, the first case reported in Vietnam so far.
Nguyen Thi Sau, 76, was admitted to the Cam Ranh General Hospital on March 22 after suffering from severe abdominal pain. Le Quang Vinh, deputy director of the hospital, said the calcified fetus is causing acute pain and the patient needs surgery to remove the fetus. However, doctors could not know whether the fetus lies inside or outside the patient’s uterus, and they need more clinical examinations to locate it. The hospital is working with the Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital and National Obstetrics Hospital to deal with the case. Sau said she went through menopause 27 years ago, her husband died 40 years ago, and her youngest son is 51 years old this year.
Doctors said lithopedion or “stone” fetus is a rare phenomenon which commonly occurs when a fetus dies during an abdominal pregnancy. Just 300 similar cases have been found worldwide to date, with the first reported in France in 1582. (VnExpress Apr 1)
