wubbie, am new to forum. Thought Doctor responed to questions as well. In reading through questions came to your comments concerning cysts, and am asking if you would please comment on my question.  From what little I've read, thought that cysts were either solid,and likely cancerous, or fluid and likely not. On my sono,it read that there is a sonolucent cyst seen in ovary. No flow within cyst but is seen in ovary. Am confused. Would you please read my question and respond please. Thanks!grammyaa

One other thing to remember, though, is that if the cysts are grown into the ovary, there may not be much left to save after removing all the 'ick'. He's probably going with the thought that if he has to remove both ovaries because there's nothing left to save, then since you'll be put into menopause anyway, he may as well take the uterus and relieve the fibroids, too.
I also had to give complete consent to whatever once they were in there. The initial plan was to actually take my right ovary, since it appeared the cyst was grown in the ovary itself. I was lucky, and she was able to save the ovary since the vast majority of the cyst was to the outside of it.
I'm not approving his thoughts, but that at least may be some of the reason behind his thinking.
~Marianne

Thanks for the speedy reply Grateful06. I'm trying not to be worried because I don't have all the answers yet or questions for that matter. Thanks for sharing your stories. Knowledge is POWER- IMO. I don't know if my doctor was just trying to give me worst case scenarios so that I'll be aware if things go badly while I'm on the table. He says he's fairly certain that it's not cancerous but he can't know for sure until he gets inside.

I feel very much like your friend does. That's a good point that the organs are there to keep everything else where it belongs too. I hadn't thought of that. Another reason to retain the organs if possible.
I do intend to get a second opinion and a third if necessary. Seeking out a gyno/onco too. That's my project for today. Research!
Good luck to you as well.
Thank you

I think if you really feel strongly about keeping your organs intact, and you don't have any pathology to support removal, then you should be able to keep all your healthy organs.  I think they can get a pretty reliable x-ray, CT scan or MRI to tell you whether or not it is a dermoid, they can usually see bone fragments on the x-ray, and ultra sound shows the fatty deposits.  Most dermoids are benign, that will help you with your decision.

My friend had the dermoid removed as a cystectomy (against her doctor's strong recommendation to have a full hysterectomy), and all her organs are intact, and she is fine, the dermoid tumor was benign.  She is post-menopausal at age 55, but said that ovaries produce androgens and she believes that the uterus provides stability for internal organs, so the bladder doesn't fall, etc.  She made her own decision, with her doctor's support even though he disagreed because of the potential, albeit small, that the dermoid was cancerous, and the overall opinion that you don't need your sexual organs after menopause.  She disagreed, did her own research and I support her completely.  She is thrilled to have only had a cystectomy, and all her organs intact and functioning.

Now, you have to weigh this with the possibility that they remove the dermoid, and it is cancerous, and then have you spread any cancerous tissue or cells because you didn't take it out whole and in the ovary?  This is really the risk of not taking the ovary out intact, with the cyst inside.  I had a borderline tumor erupt in my abdomen, taken out by a non-skilled OB/GYN if you ask me, and I would give anything to have that moment back, and the ovary taken instead.

So, my advice to you (not being a doctor myself) is to go to the BEST gynecologist/oncologist you possibly can, and have an opinion on how to handle this with an eye toward cancer (knowing you likely do NOT have cancer, which is the absolute case for you), but then you can get the "what ifs" and assess the risks and choose what is best for you.  Doctors tend to be protective anyway, because of medical-legal issues, but you can get their opinion, do your own research, and make an informed decision on how you want to proceed.

Many women of many ages want everything removed for various reasons, cancer fear or actual cancer treatment, or painful periods, or as my Aunt said, "I wanted that uterus out to make damn sure I wouldn't get pregnant again" . . . spoken like a woman with six kids!  

Other women believe that it is unnecessary to do anything other than what actual pathology reports indicate, and too many doctors want to take out healthy organs and it is just not what they want for themselves.

Both opinions are very respected here, and I wish you the best of luck, and most of all I wish you a cutting edge, intelligent gyn/onc to give you really good information with which to make this choice.

I want bog you down with my story, but I did keep my one ovary and uterus, so I wouldn't go through surgical menopause at 39, but some days I wonder if I did what is best for my future, but for now (being 2 weeks post op after one ovary removed)I am happy with my decision, that this wasn't the time to remove everything.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!