I had a softball sized Mature Teratoma (mature means benign- which 99% of teratomas are) removed 8/18/06.  They had to take my right ovary also because there was nothing of it left.  Teratomas are kind of funky- kind of cool because they can have teeth, bone, hair etc in them. I had the laparoscopy (1 long cut) and was released to go back to work in 2 1/2 weeks- only because I have a desk job.  I am still sore sometimes, but feel better overall.

I had an ovary and fallopian tube removed when I was 29 years old.  Certainly felt awful after as I thought there's no way I can have babies now.  How wrong was I?

Now at the grand old age of 45 my eldest of three is 13, then 11 and finally a 5 year old.  And all on one ovary and one tube.

Rest easy and don't give yourself any unecessary hassle.  I didn't have the internet way back then but please be assured that there are many others on this forum who have had babies on one ovary.

Best wishes and good luck!

First of all... breathe.
If your dr is suspecting a teratoma, then it will need to be removed. It can be removed either as a laproscopic or a laparotomy surgery (small incisions vs. large incisions) depending on it's size. Your dr. will choose which surgery is best to remove it.
If she has to remove the ovary (and that doesn't always happen... it depends on if the mass involves the whole ovary or if it is on the outside), then she will remove the ovary and cautarize the tube so that nothing gets through where she took the ovary from. As long as you still have one working ovary, or even part of a working ovary, you will not require hormone replacements. You would only need HRT if she had to remove both ovaries. The only difference you will notice is that you will only ovulate on one side instead of alternating sides every month.
It will not affect your chances of getting pregnant in the future. There are many ladies on the forum that have had children with one or just part of one ovary. The remaining ovary will take over all hormones and egg production.
Hope this helps!
~Marianne

I am 26 and had my left ovary removed on September 14th. My Dr. had to remove my ovary because I had a large eggplant size tumor surrounding the ovary. She did the surgery by abdominal incision...I am still in recovery, but I have learned that kids are for sure still possible and so far I have not had anything bad happen. Recovery as I am learning just takes time and you have to be patient and not push your body to hard.

I am not sure what a teratoma is...sorry.

As for hormone replacement I am not needing any...I have heard that loosing one ovary may cause some pre-menopausal symtoms...like hot flashes...but nothing where you would need hormones or not be able to have kids.

wubbie3 i want to thank you for your  answer 2morrow i have an appointment with my doc she will do ct scan for me and so we can be sure what kind of mass it is and i will tell u about it                                      thanks for your answer