Heterotopic pregnancy after a single embryo transfer with successful perinatal outcome: case report and literature review

Abstract

A heterotopic pregnancy is a rare and serious pathological pregnancy. In this paper, we report a rare case of heterotopic pregnancy and perform a literature review. A 30-year-old patient with a history of left adnexectomy presented with persistent lower abdominal pain and hemorrhagic shock after single embryo transfer. Emergency laparoscopic exploration revealed a ruptured mass in the right isthmus of the fallopian tube, for which right salpingectomy was performed. After anti-inflammatory treatment and fetal preservation, the intrauterine pregnancy progressed smoothly, and a healthy baby was delivered at 39 weeks gestation. In this case, the patient’s heterotopic pregnancy was possibly due to a natural pregnancy caused by sexual intercourse during treatment, so we recommend that sexual intercourse be avoided during transfer cycles.