A 36-year-old woman who had half her uterus removed conceived and gave birth naturally, a Taipei Medical University Hospital (TMUH) doctor said.
"It's a miracle," said Liu Wei-min (劉偉民), chief gynecologist at TMUH and the woman's doctor.
Liu said he had never come across a case of a woman with so much of her uterus removed becoming pregnant without receiving fertility treatment and delivering the baby without a caesarean section.
"It might be a world first," he said.
The woman became aware of her condition six years ago after seeking treatment for severe pains associated with her periods. Liu discovered that the patient was suffering from adenomyosis in the back wall of her uterus.
"By the time her condition was discovered, half her uterus was gone," Liu said.
Following surgery, the woman underwent two rounds of in-vitro fertilization, only to discover that her husband had a low sperm count, further decreasing their chances of conceiving. Both rounds of treatment failed and the couple resigned themselves to not having children.
"After nine years of trying, it looked like we were not meant to have a baby in this life," said the woman, surnamed Chen (陳), at a press conference at the hospital yesterday.
However, last year the woman became pregnant.
A caesarean section was planned at 37 weeks, but on Thursday the woman unexpectedly went into labor.
"This was a high-risk pregnancy so the family initially wanted a caesarean section to minimize the risks," Liu said. "But her birth canal had dilated to 10cm and her condition was good, so they agreed to try and deliver the baby vaginally."
The delivery went smoothly. However, since the baby was prematurely born at 28 weeks, it remains under observation in an incubator.
"I cannot wait for the baby to get stronger and come home," Chen said.
Liu said the medical staff cannot take credit for the birth.
"It is already difficult for women who have had surgery for adenomyosis to conceive and with half the uterus gone it is very difficult," Liu said. "In this case, we played a very small role in the pregnancy."
Adenomyosis is a disease where uterine lining cells end up growing directly inside the muscles of the uterus walls.
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