Molar pregnancy
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A molar pregnacy is an abnormal pregnancy. A woman can be pregnant with a complete mole or partial mole. Complete mole means only mole and no fetus. Partial mole means mole and fetus.
Complete mole happens when empty ovum (meaning it has no DNA) is fertilized by 2 sperms, or one sperm that copies itself. The result is 46XX or 46XY (only DNA of father).
A partial mole happens when normal ovum (with DNA) is fertilised by 2 sperms. The result is 69 chromosomes. 69XXX or 69XXY. But even if there is fetus, it will not survive, because its DNA is abnormal. It will have many abnormalities in its body, it will be malformed. It is very common that the partial mole is spontanoeusly aborted in 1st trimester.
So what is mole? It is tumour from the cells that form the placenta. It looks like a bunch of grapes or balloons. And on Ultrasound complete mole will look like snowstorm because you will see the balloons and blood in between them, and no baby is seen.
Those increased placenta cells make too much of a hormone called HCG. The HCG will cause cysts on the ovaries. Those cysts will go away on their own after the mole goes away or is treated. So the cysts are not removed.
The woman may bleed early in the pregnancy because her placenta is abnormal and a vesicle (one of those grapes or balloons structures) fell. She might have pain and a spontaneous abortion.
Her Uterus is likely to be bigger than normal for the duration of pregnancy because there is an abnormal growth. She might vomit excessively because her HCG is higher than normal.
When she does a serum HCG test measuring the level of HCG in her blood, it will be found to be so high, >100,000 in the first 8 weeks.
Molar pregnancy can turn into malignant mole that spreads to lungs, and other organs such as kidneys spleen liver brain and bone marrow.