{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T06:00:47Z","timestamp":1785477647830,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785456000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A lithopedion (\u2018stone baby\u2019) is a rare complication of abdominal pregnancy from calcification of a deceased fetus. Coexistence with a viable intrauterine pregnancy is extraordinarily rare.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Case presentation<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A 27-year-old lady (G2P1L1) with a history of cesarean section presented with acute abdominal pain at 12\u202fweeks of gestation. Ultrasonography revealed a single viable intrauterine fetus and a complex extrauterine mass containing calcified fetal structures with posterior acoustic shadowing suggestive of a dead fetus corresponding to 22\u202fweeks of gestation, consistent with lithopedion. Because of symptoms, possible mass effect on the gravid uterus, and risk of mechanical obstruction as pregnancy progressed, exploratory laparotomy was performed. The lithopedion was excised without disturbing the ongoing pregnancy. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, and follow-up confirmed continued normal intrauterine gestational development.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A lithopedion coexisting with a viable gestation has been documented in fewer than a dozen modern cases. Prior cesarean section is a recognized risk factor for uterine scar disruption, increasing susceptibility to secondary abdominal pregnancy. Diagnosis is often delayed because vague symptoms may be attributed to the ongoing pregnancy. Although observation may suffice when asymptomatic outside pregnancy, surgery is usually advised when symptoms or mass-effect risks are present.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ultrasonography is critical when evaluating abdominal pain during pregnancy. In symptomatic cases diagnosed during gestation, individualized surgical planning may allow safe removal of a retained lithopedion while preserving the viable intrauterine pregnancy and reducing mass-effect-related obstetric complications.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1859131","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T05:38:19Z","timestamp":1785476299000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Detection of a lithopedion coexisting with a 12-week viable intrauterine pregnancy: a rare case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Jyotirmoy","family":"Biswas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Madhumita","family":"Ganguly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ananya","family":"Shreya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital","place":["Kolkata, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arkadeep","family":"Dhali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust","place":["Sheffield, United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Imperial College London","place":["London, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saikat","family":"Mandal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Nottingham","place":["Nottingham, United 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Health"},{"key":"ref12","first-page":"23","article-title":"Lithopedion: an unusual cause of an abdominal calcified mass","volume":"14","author":"Morales","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Radiol Case Rep"},{"key":"ref13","first-page":"232","article-title":"Therapeutic aspects in the management of a lithopedion","volume":"36","author":"Irick","year":"1970","journal-title":"Am Surg"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"151","DOI":"10.1186\/2193-1801-3-151","article-title":"Lithopedion diagnosed during infertility workup: a case report","volume":"3","author":"Medhi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Springerplus"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-023-02244-z","article-title":"A 50-year-old refugee woman with a lithopedion and a lifetime of trauma: a case report","volume":"23","author":"Sous","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Womens Health"},{"key":"ref16","first-page":"352","article-title":"A lithopaedion removed from a patient six months pregnant","volume":"7","author":"Luker","year":"1914","journal-title":"Proc R Soc Med"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"458","DOI":"10.1097\/AOG.0b013e31819ecc82","article-title":"Coexistent lithopedion and live abdominal ectopic pregnancy","volume":"114","author":"Massinde","year":"2009","journal-title":"Obstet Gynecol"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"534","DOI":"10.1007\/s13224-023-01765-9","article-title":"Secondary abdominal and intrauterine pregnancy with Lithopaedion","volume":"73","author":"Jaiswal","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Obstet Gynaecol India"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in 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