What is the treatment for a complete vs partial molar pregnancy?

For a complete or partial molar pregnancy, dilation and curettage (D&C) is the appropriate treatment. Molar pregnancies are a type of gestational trophoblastic disease characterized by abnormal growth of trophoblasts, the cells that normally develop into the placenta.

In the case of a complete molar pregnancy, there is typically an abnormal fertilization event, leading to the development of a tissue mass that resembles a placenta but does not contain normal fetal tissue. A partial molar pregnancy has some normal placental tissue along with abnormal tissue, but it also does not develop into a viable pregnancy.

D&C is performed to remove the abnormal tissue, which is essential to prevent complications such as persistent gestational trophoblastic disease or the development of choriocarcinoma, a malignant form of trophoblastic disease. The procedure also facilitates monitoring of hCG levels post-treatment to ensure that all molar tissue has been removed and to manage any potential complications appropriately.

Other treatment options, such as an excisional biopsy, hysterectomy, or observation alone, are not standard for molar pregnancies. An excisional biopsy is generally used for diagnostic purposes in other contexts, a hysterectomy may be indicated in severe or complicated cases but