title: Normal fetus with a twin presenting as both a complete hydatidiform mole and placenta previa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A twin gestation comprising a complete hydatidiform mole and a coexisting normal fetus is a rare and high-risk condition. Only a few such gestations have resulted in live infants. We report a case with a very large molar component presenting as a placenta previa.
  
  
  METHODS
  A live infant was delivered by cesarean at 31 weeks of gestation. The delivery incorporated prophylactic temporary balloon occlusion of the internal iliac arteries. The patient did not develop persistent gestational trophoblastic disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We recommend that intra-arterial balloon catheters be considered before cesarean delivery in cases of complete hydatidiform mole with a coexisting normal fetus if the molar pregnancy presents as a previa. The size of the molar gestation is not an independent risk factor for persistent or metastatic disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, USA. tklatt@mail.mcw.edu
authors.forename: Timothy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Klatt
authors.forename: Ralph A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Franciosi
authors.forename: Dwight P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Cruikshank
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006828:Hydatidiform Mole / Q000150:complications*; D010923:Placenta Previa; D011247:Pregnancy; D014427:Twins; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*