Brazilian Woman, 81, Dies Post Surgery To Remove 56-Year-Old Foetus

Can a woman carry a foetus for 56 years? It may sound bizarre, but this woman from Brazil carried a calcified foetus for 56 years in her belly without having any clue about it! Daniela Vera, from Brazil, has had an unknowing ectopic pregnancy since she was a teenager. Despite giving birth to seven children, Vera was unaware of carrying a calcified foetus in her belly. 

The youngest daughter of Vera stated that she had her first pregnancy when she was a teenager with another man, Vera has been complaining about stomach aches and something moving in her belly since then. While Vera has had seven children and consulted many doctors, no doctor could find a lithopedion in her belly all these years unless she was 3D scanned and doctors detected a lithopedion.

Brazilian Woman Dies Post-Surgery After Removing 56-Year-Old Foetus

Vera's ordeal began much earlier in life. Her daughter revealed that Vera had complained of abdominal pain since her first pregnancy as a teenager. Despite consulting doctors multiple times and mentioning the discomfort and a bulge in her belly, the condition remained undiagnosed. 

Weeks before her passing, Vera experienced a worsening of her stomach issues. A doctor initially treated her for a suspected urinary tract infection. However, due to the severity of her pain, she was referred to another hospital for further investigation. There, advanced 3D scans revealed the presence of the lithopedion.

Lithopedions are a rare medical phenomenon that occurs when a fetus dies during an ectopic pregnancy, a condition where the fertilised egg implants outside the uterus. In some cases, the body is unable to expel the tissue naturally. The body then surrounds the dead tissue with calcium carbonate, creating a stone-like mass.