Molar pregnancy can bring serious complications to the health of women, because it can give rise to cancer, called gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, if clinical abortion or curettage are not able to completely eliminate 'fetal' remains.
Gestational trophoblastic cancer is suspected when symptoms such as an enlarged uterus, vaginal bleeding and ovarian cysts may occur. However, almost half of the affected women do not have any symptoms. The diagnosis of this type of cancer is usually made by high beta HCG or by the appearance of metastasis, more common in the lung or genital region.
Molar pregnancy, spring pregnancy or hydatidiform spring, is a rare condition where during fertilization there is a genetic error and the fetus does not receive the pairs of chromosomes coming from the mother, only from the father, causing the fetus to have only a tangle of cells or there are serious changes in the placenta that do not allow the correct oxygenation and nutrition of the fetus.
In the case of a molar pregnancy, the woman initially presents the classic signs of a pregnancy, but the molar pregnancy is suspected when observing a Beta HCG concentration much higher than expected for gestational age and bleeding may occur between the 6th and 16th week of gestation.. Its diagnosis is made through Beta HCG and ultrasound.
How to treat molar pregnancy
Around 6 or 8 weeks of gestation, a spontaneous abortion should happen, because the embryo's development is not possible. If the molar pregnancy was discovered before spontaneous abortion, it is necessary to cause the abortion with the use of abortive medications indicated by the gynecologist or obstetrician, or else uterine aspiration should be performed to ensure that the uterus is properly cleaned.
Uterine aspiration is more indicative than curettage because some women, even after curettage, may remain with embryo cells inside the uterus and these may turn into a malignant tumor depending on each case. If she is diagnosed with a malignant tumor, treatment should be carried out on the basis of chemotherapy and / or surgery to remove the uterus or tubes if they are also affected.
After the initial treatment, the woman must be followed up for 1 year, performing the exam to evaluate Beta HCG because if there are even tiny traces of the spring inside the uterus, there will be an increase in this hormone, which means that a new curettage is necessary to clean the uterus completely.
When can you get pregnant again?
After the removal of the spring from the uterus, the woman must be followed up for 1 year and only after this period will the obstetrician be able to indicate that pregnancy attempts can be resumed. Some doctors find it safer not to try to conceive again until 6 months after their hCG level has returned to normal.
During this period the woman may use a condom, implant or birth control pill, for example.
