A 28-year-old Gauteng woman who had an undiagnosed but dangerous abdominal pregnancy has delivered a 1.8kg boy.The woman was 32 weeks pregnant when she experienced lower abdominal pain during a visit to Newcastle‚ KwaZulu-Natal‚ on April 28."An ultrasound was performed at Newcastle Hospital‚ and a diagnosis of abdominal pregnancy was suspected by the ultrasonographer and confirmed by Dr Nonhlanhla Dlamini‚ the head of the obstetric department‚" said Dr Prem Naicker‚ who led the team of four surgeons who delivered the baby."The woman had been honouring her ante-natal clinic visits at a hospital in Gauteng prior to arriving in Newcastle. The doctors in Gauteng had not recognised that she had an abdominal pregnancy."Naicker said the foetus was located behind the uterus‚ which was empty. "The patient was in severe pain and was anaemic. There were concerns that the abdominal pregnancy had started bleeding internally‚ and that the foetus would not survive much longer. Dr Dlamini advised the patient that she would need emergency surgery the same night."Four doctors performed a laparotomy - a surgical procedure involving a large incision through the abdominal wall to gain access into the abdominal cavity."We removed the baby. The baby was alive and well‚ which is a very‚ very rare occurrence. The paediatrician was there‚ and everything was fine‚" said NaickerIn a normal pregnancy‚ a sperm cell merges with the egg cell‚ and the resultant zygote moves through the fallopian tube to the uterus. An abdominal pregnancy occurs when a fertilised egg implants somewhere other than a woman's uterus.Abdominal pregnancies are quite rare‚ occurring in about 1 in 10‚000 pregnancies. When they do occur‚ they may end in death of the mother (usually from bleeding) in about 20% of the cases.Said Naicker: “Abdominal pregnancies are very difficult to diagnose‚ and sometimes everything appears to be normal. And then later on‚ the patient may present with abdominal pain."It’s always a very difficult operation because sometimes the placenta is stuck on the bowel‚ or the bowel is stuck on the placenta. But thanks to the Almighty‚ everything went well. It’s a good outcome. The hospital deserves the credit.”The baby and his mother spent three days in intensive care. “Both baby and mother are doing well at this stage‚” Naicker said on Saturday.KZN Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo praised the doctors and nurses involved in the operation.“The fact that they pulled it off such a delicate procedure without incident is once again an example of the calibre of healthcare professionals that we have within the department. They’re an inspiration‚ and we are extremely proud of them‚” he said.TMG Digital/The Times..