ABSTRACT
An ectopic pregnancy is a gestation in which the fertilized ovum implants outside the uterine cavity. Each year approximately 11000 women in the UK suffer from an ectopic pregnancy. The incidence has been increasing and now occurs in one in every hundred pregnancies in the UK. Most women have an ectopic pregnancy presenting around the sixth week. Left untreated a tubal ectopic pregnancy can lead to rupture of the fallopian tube and life-threatening haemorrhage. Ectopic pregnancy is the commonest cause of maternal deaths in the UK (8%).
