After Laparoscopy scars for cyct removal...

[Jenny12321]

Hi! I know there are lots of threads about laparoscopys and cyst removals but I have quite a specific question-

I am 26 and I have a 5cm cyst on my left ovary. I have a lap removal surgery booked for the 1st of October, but my question is this-

Are the surgeons able to remove a cyst that large with just the little holes, or should I expect a bigger scar on my abdomen?

It feels really silly being so worried about scarring, but I just want to know what Im in for...
Thanks!

[ticked]

Just by his comment "no way of knowing how bad my Endometriomis is as it doesnt show up on the ultrasounds, so it will be determined during the Laparoscopy to remove the Endometrioma." makes me feel he is not an Endometriosis specialist. Although not many know that an Endometrioma is a sign of moderate to severe disease. This is why this disease needs to have more awareness and that surgeons really need to do their homework and find out more information. It is quite sad when the patient knows more than the surgeon really!! Also if there is fluid in the cul-de-sac (Pouch of Douglas) that is an indicator of Endo as well.

He is also wrong about the fertility. No matter what stage you are its 50/50 and you will only know if you try. I had stage IV and conceived and there are others with stage I that can't.

The Endometrioma is only part of the worry. It can be removed from the ovary but its the lesions elsewhere. It really depends on where the lesions are but the fact that your pain is minimal makes you one lucky lady for sure :)

I take Marvelon which is a low dose BCP I take it every single day until I get a breakthrough bleed, then I come off it for 3-4 days to bleed then back on until the next BTB. With the research I have done I find that you have less side effects on this than drugs such as Lupron, Depot, Visanne, etc

I am really interested on what they find and I hope that you keep me updated.

[Jenny12321]

Thanks so much for all this information.

I am seeing my doctor at the end of September, before my Laparoscopy at the beginning of October. I will make sure to ask him about the scarring and how he intends on removing Endometriosis leisions if he finds it.

I have been symptom free other than bizarre periods and some abdominal pain. I had horrible pain Dec 2012 which is how I found out I had a cyst on my ovaries (I actually had 3 at that time, two simple and one endometrioma).  No pain during ovulation, no pain after sex, no symptoms other than the occasional dull ache in my abdomen (where my cyst is) and irregular period pattern (i am already on the mini pill cerezette so I guess im already suppressed a little).

Ya the biggest bummer is that my doctor told me that because I have Endometriosis my fertility has gone down from like 30% to like 2%? Which isnt amazing but definitely there could be worse news- he explained that it is likely I will need fertility treatment if I am trying to concieve, and the fertility treatment team would want me to have the surgery to remove the endometrioma so I should just get it done now.

My doctor said there is no way of knowing how bad my Endometriomis is as it doesnt show up on the ultrasounds, so it will be determined during the Laparoscopy to remove the Endometrioma.
What kind of things would you recommend to suppress periods and stop ovulation?

[ticked]

Okay so now that I know what type of cyst this is, you really do need to do some research on Endometriosis.

An Endometrioma is an indicator of moderate to severe disease and it is imperative that you have a surgeon "Excise" the endo out not laser.

This is where there could be a possibility that you will wake up with a long incision if you don't find out some details first.

Is the surgeon capable of performing excision surgery?

Is he capable of doing it laparoscopically? This is key. If he is an Endo specialist it can all be done through key hole. If he is not a lot of the time it gets to difficult for them and they will do an open incision.

You must have an appointment before the surgery so you really need to ask these questions.

Are you symptomatic? Did you have just pain starting around the time the cyst was found?

Just so you have an idea in case you have not heard of Endometriosis it is a gynecological disease that has no cure. The closest to being pain free is excision of the lesions. Endometriosis lesions feed off estrogen and there is estrogen in the lesions so if they all are not removed it will continue to grow.

After your surgery you will want to use something to suppress your periods to stop the pain as well as stop ovulation so that more cysts will not form.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I am the Forum leader for the Endometriosis community.  

[Jenny12321]

thanks so much for your experiences, its very reassuring. I guess my main concern is that I would wake up with a huge cesarian looking scar (or my ovaries having been removed...)

It is a chocolate cyst (the blood filled one- sounds much more delicious than it is), I was going to have the surgery for both a simple cyst and my 5cm endometrioma, but my 5cm simple cyst disappeared recently at my last scan! Although I do still need the surgery :(

My doctor who is doing my surgery seems very experienced, and he said that I would need to get it removed at some point in the future so its better just to get it done :)

[xxXMinnieXxx]

I' had that exact surgery in April . I have four incisions .... Now I can hardly see them because they're so small and light.

[ticked]

If you want in my pics I have posted my pelvic area after surgery. It will give you an idea of where they will go in. I had my surgery in Feb and they are barely noticeable now. I also had surgery in 2007 had 5 incision and they are so faint you can hardly see them

[CarbSlave]

Hi - I just had surgery 3 days ago for a 5 cm ovarian cyst, but my ovary was the size of an orange!  My incisions are tiny, with just 2 stitches, so I can't imagine how they got it out of there, but my point is I don't think you have to worry.   ;)

[ticked]

If you have a good surgeon it should only take a keyhole surgery. Very simple. There should be no reason for an open surgery. This is also something you should ask the particular surgeon before he operates because this can be done and 80% of the time it is done through a small incision. Speak what is on your mind to them its your body remember :)

Once it is over you should be able to recover after a week or 2 because its a simple procedure. Did they say what kind of cyst it was? Fluid filled? Blood filled? Dermoid?