Uterine body pregnancy???

[TrueColours]

For the first time (for me anyhow!), a client's mare has come up with a "uterine body pregnancy"

The vet said that it is still early (15 days) and it *should* migrate to the right or the left horn and there is only a small chance that it will remain in the uterine body in which case it will not be a viable pregnancy and it will die off

Has anyone else experienced this and what was the final outcome? Is there anything that could / should be done or is it a "wait and see" situation?

Thanks, as always!

[Inyureye]

I had a girlfriend who had two (ectopic) such pregnancies. The first went 4.5 months before sending her to the emergency room for surgery. I hope that with mares it is taken care of by mother nature as your vet says. Good luck.

[mary syers]

Ectopic pregnancy in the human is in the tube(can't spell falopion? to save my soul). Uterine body pregnany is an unrooted pregnancy. No interconnection between placenta and uterine wall, but not in the tube. I've never heard of an ectopic pregnancy in the horse, but it probably happens, ruptures, and kills the horse and we call it colic. Hope the little bugger gets himself rooted where he belongs. Mary Syers

[madelyn]

Thanks for the clarification, Mary, that's what I THOUGHT -- ectopic is in the fallopian tube.

[mary syers]

Madelyn,
Thanks for the spelling of fallopian. I just could not bring it up from the ooze I call a brain. The thing to remember, is that horse uterine/placenta connection is an ingrowth of tissue and blood vessels into the uterine wall. Its not like the cow with caruncles and carbunkles--button like connections that can snap apart. Its a more complete connection, and probably leads to some of the problems we have in and around pregnancy. Mary Syers

[TrueColours]

well - the vet comes tomorrow so we will find out if the little darling has migrated or is still stuck in the uterine body

Crossing my fingers that it is good news once she is checked again!

[TrueColours]

Here is another repsonse received off an Equine Reproduction forum:

"The equine embryo is mobile within the uterus until around 16 days post-fertilization, at which time it becomes fixed generally just within one of the uterine horns at the corpus-cornual junction.

I would not be surprised to see a 15-day embryo still in the uterine body and would not be concerned by it. If it was still located in the uterine body ater the stage when fixation is anticipated (~16 days) I would have concerns, as uterine body pregnancies rarely go to term in the equine.

I would monitor with a repeat ultrasound a few days later (~18-20 days) and take appropriate action based upon the findings then. That action may include use of prostaglandin to destroy the pregnancy and allow rebreeding, but that would depend upon other factors (e.g. availability of semen)."