cyst on ovary

[jsdjeanne]

Wishing well to all...my queation is...I have a 5.4 cyst on left ovaty, and ovary is enlarged (5.7) & no pain. The right ovary is fine. I am 51; taking HRT for menopause symtoms.  The first dr I went to scared the jeebers out of me, my regular gyno said the cyst does not look to be cancerous on the ultrasound/sonogram.  I have an apt. for a 2nd opinion (onc/gyn, as the first dr was)  Aug 3rd.  Would if be acceptable to ask him to remove left ovary via laparoscopic and open me up only if cyst is cancerous?  My 1/2 sister had cyst on her left ovary and it was fine.  If he has to open me up, I may request to have uterus removed, just to be done with it.  I don't have any problems with it, except I sometimes have mini periods very occasionally.  Any advice from the sisters will be appreciated.  Keeping you all in my prayers,  Jeanne

[MickeyVicki]

You are welcome.  You have my best wishes for finding a good doctor.  My doctor has a great reputation among the hospital staff for a good bedside manner.  I think it also helps that she herself had a hysterectomy, so she knows exactly what the patient is experiencing.

[jsdjeanne]

Dear MickeyVicki,
  Many thanks for all the info...I will keep you posted.  I have appt Aug. 3rd, have been told I will be in good hands with him..did not care for first dr but may have been her bedside manner...have heard from other gals she has none!!  I was not expecting surgery when I walked in there, so it was a bit of a shock.  Like I said, I have no pain and I'm not sure how taking out this cyst (along with anything else) will fix my heel spur that is extrememly  painful...
  Many thanks again, Jeanne

[MickeyVicki]

And the 'gas pains'!

I did not have this problem because my doctor uses extra fluids to flush the abdomen and help remove the air used in the surgery.  However, I was warned in advance by several women that I would likely have pains in my chest and back areas; they described it as a sharp pain that would come and go.  They each consulted with their doctors over the pain, and they were told it was due to trapped air left behind after the surgery. (The abdomen is bloated with air after the equipment is inserted to improve the view and to  make the access to the organs and tissues easier.)

[MickeyVicki]

Ah, yes, I left out the information about the incisions!

I had four incisions: one at my navel, two near the midline of my abdomen as measured between the navel and pubic area - with one on the right side and one on the left side, and one just at the pubic area.  That last one required a shave of just less than one inch on me.  The largest incision seemed to be the one at the navel.

Another woman posting on this thread had a dermoid cyst removed, and she wrote that she only had two incisions.  I suppose that the number of incisions depends  upon the type of surgery.

[MickeyVicki]

OK, here is my recollection of the surgery and recovery.  I am sure that I will think of something else, but this is a good start:

As I mentioned previously, I was scheduled for an laparascopic procedure to remove a large cyst, the ovary to which it was attached, and the fallopian tube.   Because the doctor cannot be absolutely certain whether a cyst or tumor is malignant or benign prior to a biopsy, I made a written agreement with my doctor for each scenario that might occur during my surgery.   Basically, she was to test the cyst for cancer at the time of the surgery.  The procedure is to bag the cyst, pull it to the surface and take a sample from it, and check the sample while the patient is in surgery in the OR to determine if there appear to be malignant cells.  Bagging the cyst reduces the chance that any malignant cells, if present, will be spilled into the abdomen.   If my doctor found any evidence of cancer, then she was authorized by our written agreement to proceed with the larger laparotomy incision and to perform a complete hysterectomy.  

If you have ever had surgery before, then you know the standard pre-operative process, with the usual bloodwork, urine testing, and exhaustive, repetitive interviews with nurses and the anesthesiologist.    My doctor did not require any special food requirements prior to my surgery, other than the standard

[MickeyVicki]

I was an emotional basket case prior to my surgery last December.  KarinC had faced the same situation as I was in, and she helped me so much by telling me all about the surgery, the in-hospital recovery, and the recovery at home.  She did such a good job that the nurses at the hospital asked me how I knew so much about what each next step would be!!  That was so long ago that the posts are off the pages now, and I doubt they are in the archives.

I will try to reconstruct the process and post it here for you later this weekend.  In the meantime, www.hystersisters.com, or is it  www.hyster-sisters.com,  has a great pre- and post- surgery checklist that will help you sort good ideas in your mind and help you make plans.  Of course, the laparascopic  surgery is not as bad as the  'whole enchilada' hysterectomy.

[jsdjeanne]

Dear MickiVicki,
  Many thanks for your soothing words! So much to try and learn before Dr appt.  Hope I ask all the right questions. This is such a wonderful tool, thank you for this website.  My prayers are with you all.  Where is the email with you and Karic?  I'd love to know what I'm facing... Many thanks,  Jeanne

[MickeyVicki]

I did just that - the agreement that I made with my doctor prior to surgery was that the cyst, ovary, and fallopian tube would be removed laparascopically.  However, my doctor would be testing the cyst in the surgical ward, and if my doctor did find cancer, then she was authorized to 'open me up' and remove it all, because that would be the better course of surgical treatment in the event that cancer was found.  My cyst was benign, so I had only the smaller laparascopic incisions, which made my recovery period shorter.