What are the causes of hydatidiform mole?
A molar pregnancy is caused by an abnormally fertilized egg. Human cells normally contain 23 pairs of chromosomes. One chromosome in each pair comes from the father, the other from the mother.
How is a molar pregnancy removed?
Treatment usually consists of one or more of the following steps: Dilation and curettage (D&C). To treat a molar pregnancy, your doctor will remove the molar tissue from your uterus with a procedure called dilation and curettage ( D&C ). A D&C is usually done as an outpatient procedure in a hospital.
What is meant by hydatidiform mole?
Listen to pronunciation. (HY-duh-TIH-dih-form…) A slow-growing tumor that develops from trophoblastic cells (cells that help an embryo attach to the uterus and help form the placenta) after fertilization of an egg by a sperm. A hydatidiform mole contains many cysts (sacs of fluid).
What is partial hydatidiform mole?
A partial molar pregnancy is a variation of a molar pregnancy, an abnormal pregnancy in which an embryo (the fertilized egg) either develops incompletely, or doesn’t develop at all. Instead, a cluster of grape-like cysts (known as a hydatidiform mole) grows in the uterus.
What are the complications of hydatidiform mole?
Hydatidiform moles can cause serious complications, including the following:
- Infection of the uterus.
- A widespread infection of the blood (sepsis.
- Dangerously low blood pressure (shock.
- Very high blood pressure with increased protein in the urine (preeclampsia.
How can hydatidiform moles be prevented?
There is no way to prevent a molar pregnancy. If you have had a previous molar pregnancy, you can reduce your likelihood of complications by avoiding another pregnancy for one year after your initial molar pregnancy.
How long will I bleed after molar pregnancy?
You will have some bleeding for up to 6 weeks and it might be heavy and red at first. Let your doctor or specialist nurse know if the bleeding doesn’t ease off or if it gets heavier. After removal of a molar pregnancy you have regular blood tests or urine tests to check the levels of a hormone called hCG.
What type of chemotherapy is used for molar pregnancy?
Chemo with either methotrexate (with or without leucovorin) or actinomycin-D is the only treatment needed in most cases. If a single drug does not get rid of the tumor, treatment with combination chemo is usually effective. In rare cases, the tumors are surgically removed and chemo may be given.