By Abimbola Ogunnaike
A 81-year-old woman from Aral Moreira, Brazil, Daniela Vera, has died after undergoing surgery to remove a 56-year-old lithopedion, a calcified foetus, from her abdomen.
Daniela had unknowingly carried the foetus since her youth, with doctors dismissing her complaints of stomach pain over the years.
As reported by NDTV, on Friday, 22 March, 2024, Vera visited a local health centre on March 10, where she received treatment for a urinary tract infection. Subsequently, she was referred to another hospital where she underwent 3D scans.
The scan was conducted after she was transferred to Ponta Pora Regional Hospital in the central-western state of Mato Grosso do Sul, following a generalised infection contracted from a prior visit to a hospital closer to her home for treatment of the urinary infection.
The scan revealed lithopedion, a condition derived from Greek words meaning ‘stone’ and ‘child,’ wherein an abdominal ectopic pregnancy becomes calcified around the foetus.
Despite having seven children, the presence of the calcified foetus went unnoticed until the scans revealed it.
Following surgery, Daniela was transferred to intensive care, where she passed away on March 15 due to complications from an infection.
