Am I a "ticking time bomb"?? re:rupture

[landria]

Hi,
I'm 9 weeks pregnant and have a 7-10cm dermoid. I'm having surgery to have it removed when I'm 16 weeks but for now my doctor said not to exercise at all and that I'm a "ticking time bomb"; meaning she thinks it will rupture or torse. I haven't been running, well as much, but thought I'd be okay to still do low impact exercises. Is my doctor right or is she just being very conservative?? I exercise 6-7 days a week so this would make me miserable but obviously willing to do it if it's true.
Thanks in advance for your time!

[landria]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! I greatly appreciate it!!

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi Landria,

It sounds like you have a good plan in place. It is the standard of care to wait until a woman is in the second trimester of her pregnancy (more than 12 weeks pregnant) to perform surgery. The reason for that is that 20% of all pregnancies spontaneouly end in miscarriage and the majority occur in the first trimester. Also, all the major organs are formed in the fetus by 12 weeks.
After 12 weeks, the chance of malformations secondary to medications or anesthesia is extrememly low. There is still a small rsik of miscarriage with surgery.

On the other hand, there is a risk of torsion which means that the ovarian cyst or tumor twists around its blood supply. This can happen more commonly in cysts or tumors that are bigger than 5 cm which is why a cyst greater than 5 cm that is not resolving on its own is usually surgically removed.

Heavy exercise may increase the chance of torsion. I agree with your dcotor, wait until after surgery to do high impact sports and that would include running. Walking and swimming is probably ok but I defer to your dcotor
best wishes

[extrasmall]

Wow...that's a very good question. I have a 7cm cyst (don't know the type; my doctor won't tell me squat). She didn't say anything about exercise -- I lift weights 3 days a week. Of course, I'm not pregnant. I had SEVERE pain two months ago, right before this thing was diagnosed but nothing since. No other symptoms (bloating, etc.) at all either.

I'm also curious as to the complications of rupture or torsion...let's say that happens and it's left untreated for a few months -- what can one expect?

Best wishes to you.