A Case of Secondary Abdominal Pregnancy / 대한산부인과학회잡지

Abdominal pregnancy is very rare and potentially life-threatening variation of ectopic pregnancy. Early diagnosis is very difficult. In the last several decades prenatal care has improved and noninvasive procedures such as ultrasound scanning and fetal cardiotocography have led to us a better assessment of fetal and maternal disorders. In the last 30 years an increase of diagnosed ectopic pregnancies has been noted and attributed to the greater frequency of pelvic inflammatory disease. Although the incidence of ectopic pregnancy is rising, the incidence of abdominal pregnancy, which is primarily a sequel of a missed ruptured ectopic pregnancy, remains low. We presented a case of secondary abdominal pregnancy in 14 wks with its review of literature.

The Role of CT/Discography in Assessing Postoperative Disc Herniation

Successful management of patients with persistent or recurring pain after lumbar disc surgery requires comprehensive evaluation to accurately localize the anatomic sources of pain. The results of reoperation for recurrent disc herniation are uniformly good, whereas those of reoperation for scar tissue are poor. There have been few studies comparing the ability of enhanced MRI and CT/discography to distinguish between scar tissue and recurrent disc herniation. We evaluated 23 patients with recurring pain after lumbar disc surgery. Two neurosurgeons independently reviewed CT/discography and MRI of each patient before and after gadolinium enhancement. To determine the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of each test, responses were compared with surgical findings and CT/discography was found to be more sensitive and specific in distinguishing between scar and recurrent disc herniation. Characteristics associated with recurrent disc herniation include nonenhanced or rim-enhanced abnormality surrounding a low signal on enhanced MRI. and extension of contrast into the epidural space on CT/discography. For determining the need to repeat open disc surgery, combined MRI and CT/discography is more accurate and sensitive than either test alone.