21 year old having sugery for what appears to be dermoid ovarian cyst

I was told I had a cyst in May 2004 where go to school in Louisiana and went home to Alabama for a follow up where they told me they couldn't find anything.  So I let it go.  This May I went back for my annual exam in Louisiana and they said they could still feel it.  So I scheduled an ultrasound, which I had yesterday.  It appears that I have a dermoid cyst on my right ovary, but what scares me about it was that there were no clear parts and you couldn't even see my right ovary on the ultrasound.  It was like this cyst had "taken over".  So my doctor referred me to a surgeon whom I am seeing on Wednesday to schedule a laproscopy.  I have read that these are mostly benign but I am still terrified of the remote possibility of cancer.  I am only 21 years old and I feel like I am too young for this.  Has anyone else had a similar experience and am I freaking out too much or is this normal?

[MickeyVicki]

Yes and no.  No, a dermoid is not 'normal' but at the same time they are somewhat common.  They are rarely malignant; I recall a statistic that only 1 to 2 percent are cancerous.  

It is possible that the original cyst discovered at school was a large functional cyst that resolved itself prior to the follow-up appointment, thus it did not show on the later exam.   The dermoid possibly developed later.  

And given my experience last winter, I suspect that part of what has us so "freaked out" by the pending surgery is that the cyst affects the ovary to which it is attached, which in turn affects our hormone production and levels, and we all know how we can get at different times of our monthly cycle!!

The website for HysterSisters has a check list for pre-surgery and post-surgery.  The removal  and recovery for surgery for a dermoid is much less of an ordeal that  for a complete hysterectomy, but it will give you some ideas for planning your recovery.

[AStarryNiteGrl]

Thanks.. I'll check it out before I see the surgeon.

[Graccie]

Good luck, I was also diagnosed with a 4 cm dermoid last month. Tell me, did they have to remove your ovary during the  laproscopomy  or were they able to just get cyst?

[MickeyVicki]

The ovary was removed when my endometrioma was removed.  Prior to the surgery, my doctor believed that the cyst could be either a dermoid or an endometrioma and believe that it could be removed from the ovary.  Instead, I requested that the ovary and fallopian tube be removed as well; I wanted to be done with that ovary if this sort of thing was going to happen!  As it turned out, the ovary and tube were damaged by the cyst and needed to be removed anyway.  The ovary was badly damaged, completely pushed out of shape, but my cyst was vary large and grew rather quickly.

It was not an issue for me since I have no plans to have children; I am already over 40.  However, usually a cyst, especially a dermoid cyst, can often be removed without permanent damage to the ovary.  Experienced surgeons do this frequently according to the websites.  Even if one ovary is removed and the other ovary remains, the patient still has an excellent chance of having children.