Foetus Found Growing in Liver: Rare Medical Mystery Stuns UP Doctors
Lucknow, July 29: In what is possibly the first known case in India and among only a handful worldwide, a woman from Uttar Pradesh has been diagnosed with an ultra-rare intrahepatic ectopic pregnancy—a condition where the foetus was found growing inside her liver instead of the uterus.
The shocking discovery was made in Bulandshahr after the woman, suffering from persistent stomach pain and frequent vomiting, underwent an MRI scan. Dr. K.K. Gupta, a radiologist who owns a private imaging centre in Meerut, was the first to identify the unusual case.
“When I saw the scan, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The foetus was embedded in the right lobe of the liver, and there were clear cardiac pulsations. I have never encountered anything like this in my entire career,” Dr. Gupta told reporters. Based on available medical data, he believes this could be the first such case reported in India, and possibly only the eighth globally.
The scan revealed a well-formed gestational sac within the liver’s right lobe, with the foetus appearing to be around 12 weeks old. Most strikingly, it had active cardiac pulsations, confirming it was alive. At the same time, the uterus was found completely empty, clearly ruling out a normal intrauterine pregnancy.
Intrahepatic ectopic pregnancy is an exceptionally rare and high-risk condition, where the fertilized egg implants and grows in the liver. Ectopic pregnancies—where the embryo develops outside the uterus—are already dangerous, but hepatic pregnancies are considered the rarest and most life-threatening, due to the risk of massive internal bleeding. The liver, being highly vascular, makes any surgical intervention extremely risky.
Globally, only seven other such cases have been reported—in countries like the United States, China, and Nigeria. With a prevalence rate of just 0.03% among ectopic pregnancies, this rare phenomenon has stunned the medical community in India.
Doctors are now evaluating treatment options for the patient, with extreme caution due to the delicate and complex nature of her condition.
