Ruptured ectopic pregnancy presenting 3 years after supracervical hysterectomy

An ectopic pregnancy after a hysterectomy is a rare event, with about 40 reported cases since it was first identified by Wendeler in 1895.(1) There are even fewer cases reported of an ectopic pregnancy occurring years after a hysterectomy has been performed. This case illustrates the sonographic and computed tomographic (CT) findings in the setting of abdominal pain in a woman of childbearing age and highlights the need to obtain a urine pregnancy test as part of the workup for abdominal pain in women, even if a history of a hysterectomy has been given. Many providers may automatically exclude an ectopic pregnancy as a possibility in the aforementioned clinical scenario if the patient has a history of a hysterectomy. Such automatic exclusion may result in life-threatening consequences.